


The Stars Are Still

by SweetyGreeny



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21511795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetyGreeny/pseuds/SweetyGreeny
Summary: Green thought he knew what he wanted; become a strong trainer, challenge the league, become Kanto Champion. Of course, Green, being the genius that he was, got all that (kind of) but now he's stuck. Everything he does feels like a distraction, every decision he makes feels like it's for the future, and it feels like nothing has changed. Meanwhile, Red strides ahead with confidence, and Green can't help but feel envious for it.
Relationships: Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red
Comments: 21
Kudos: 241





	The Stars Are Still

**Author's Note:**

> Good GOD this took me months to finish and I promised this WAY sooner but I finally finished it! The Sinnoh stuff in this is just because I am so god damn desperate for a Sinnoh remake and also for Red and Green to be in Sinnoh so this obviously really isn't following canon but some parts do, and I hope everyone enjoys it either way!

Green Oak was a boy of determination and intellect, studying hours upon hours throughout his childhood to be the best Pokémon trainer he could be when the time came. The Indigo League seemed untouchable to any young Kanto trainer, being the definition of strength and skill to even reach the Indigo Plateau itself, and Green’s ultimate goal was to make it there. Green wanted to be a legend, to have his name written in history books alongside his Pokémon team, and he prided himself on his aptitude for Pokémon battles and knowledge of Pokémon at such a young age.

Every adult Green came across seemed concerned for him, wondered why the boy would sit in a corner and read thick textbooks instead of live the childhood he should’ve been living. He had his reasons for wanting to be the best, for burying himself in the world of Pokémon and training through books his grandfather kept in the lab, and it was no one’s business but his.

People didn’t matter; adults especially.

The only other child that shared his heavy interest in Pokémon was the one that lived next to him in Pallet Town, a boy named Red. The only thing, he was mute, and Green – being a child – wasn’t too sure how to act around the other kid. He didn’t particularly want to befriend him, he hadn’t befriended anyone apart from piles of textbooks, but reluctantly found himself doing so after his sister, Daisy, and Red’s mother forced them into playdates.

There’s nothing more awkward than two seven year olds staring at each other in complete silence for minutes on end.

They learned to tolerate each other, considering Daisy constantly had Red’s mother over to teach her how to clean and cook properly. It wasn’t like they had their own parents to teach them how to do those things, after all. The ‘playdates’ would mostly consist of Green sitting in the corner of the living room, reading his big textbooks, and Red sitting on the couch, watching whatever was on television with bored eyes. Green only discovered Red’s equal interest in Pokémon, however, when his grandfather came to visit one afternoon.

Professor Samuel Oak was an esteemed Pokémon professor, and the main provider of Green’s textbooks that should’ve been far too advanced for a child of his age. What he lacked in caretaking of his grandchildren, he made up for in his understanding of Pokémon. This is what Green thought, anyway, which Daisy always called ‘unfair’ since their grandfather was a busy man.

Well, it’s no one’s fault they were stuck with each other, but it didn’t mean Green had to like or respect him.

The professor strutted through the door with a large grin on his face, announcing his high tech Pokémon encyclopedia was coming closer to completion and it was a means to celebrate. Red’s mother and Daisy were thrilled with the news, but it was Red’s eyes lighting up in excitement that caught Green’s attention.

When noticing the two boys in the living room, Professor Oak walked over to greet them. Unbeknownst to Green, his grandfather knew who Red was, and started asking questions about his Pokémon journey he would (in the professor’s words) _‘surely embark on.’_

It took one blank look from Green to let his grandfather know he had no idea what was going on, and the professor suddenly turned awkward as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“Oh, Green, I should’ve told you sooner. Red here will be adventuring through Kanto, too. I’ve promised him the Pokémon encyclopedia that I’ve been working on when it’s finished, along with you, of course. He’s shown exceptional talent in understanding Pokémon.”

Green looked towards Red with a furrowed brow, the kid smiling up at the professor, who was only showering him with praise. It figures that the one other kid who shared his interests was someone Green had to compete with.

From then on, Green started talking to the other, but not in a friendly sense. He would ask Red if he knew his type match ups, his Pokémon evolution levels, his Pokémon abilities, what moves make the best combos, etcetera. Every time he saw Red, he would quiz him, trying to figure out what talent his grandfather saw in the boy. Green knew just about all there was to know about Pokémon, but not once had he been praised for it. Green couldn’t figure out what Red did differently, and it certainly didn’t help that Red couldn’t even respond because of his muteness. He’d constantly leave the boy flustered from the overload of questions, and Green, unaware of how he sounded, starting coming off as a smartass.

It’s not like they were fighting, at least, Green didn’t see it that way. He was curious about Red, wanted to know if Red really had what it took to receive his grandfather’s prized invention when the time came, and this continued for years until they both finally reached their tenth birthday.

Ten years old was the legal age to receive one’s first official Pokémon and be granted a trainer’s ID, but most kids didn’t particularly partake in the Pokémon journey. Parents would hold many back, keep their children in school instead of travelling the region, while other kids were more interested in having Pokémon as pets and participating in friendly battles rather than taking on the Indigo League. They saw how challenging it was, how near impossible it was, and already decided they’d lost.

The professor finished his invention just in time for the occasion, being made specifically for the two boys, and named it the Pokédex. They chose a Pokémon along with it, Red immediately picking Charmander and Green picking Squirtle upon some careful decision making. For whatever reason, his grandfather didn’t seem too pleased about it, but kept his lips sealed.

Without looking back, the boys waved goodbye to Pallet Town, and began their journey to becoming legends.

In Green’s head, it sounded epic, but in reality it only took three months. The gyms, the Indigo League, and in Red’s case, Team Rocket. All were simple to get through. The Elite Four had been somewhat of a challenge, and any inexperienced trainer would be defeated in a blink by their hands, but Green was far too prepared for them. As much as he hated to admit it, it was Red that offered the biggest challenge, and it was ultimately Red that took the title of _‘Champion’_ from him.

Green achieved his life goal and lost it, all in the span of a few months. If anything made him realise life was full of unpredictable bumps and turns that couldn’t be planned around, it was certainly that.

The media, of course, were all over it, and were far too excited to meet their youngest champions.

_“What are you going to do now?”_

That was the one question Green couldn’t answer, standing outside the Indigo Plateau with his brain going completely blank in front of the camera. He had the realisation he reached the brilliance he set out for at just ten years old, something he expected to take far longer than it did. It almost seemed like some kind of cruel joke, the thing he planned throughout his whole childhood, already over and done with. What _was_ there to do now?

Red – the current Kanto champion – stood next to him, cap tilted down and his Pikachu looking around at all the cameras with wide, curious eyes. The boy wasn’t answering any questions, being physically unable to, and seemed overwhelmed with the commotion around him.

Well, it wasn’t every day two kids beat the esteemed Indigo League and both earned the champion title; albeit Green only having the title for fifteen minutes.

Green looked towards the other boy, furrowing his brow for a moment, then jumped back in shock with the rest of the reporters as the champion pulled out his Charizard and quickly took off without a word. Green couldn’t really blame him for the reaction, but the ruckus Red left behind was something Green had to deal with, having to answer almost every Red related question he could until Lance stepped in to let him breathe.

“Go home for now, the champion has the right idea.”

It’s what Lance told him, and Green had no mind to question it.

Red ended up hightailing it back to Pallet Town, Green knowing where he was before even seeing him by the amount of praise he could hear on the other side of his grandfather’s laboratory door. When stepping in, the professor didn’t even notice, only continued to babble on to Red about how proud he was. Upon finally being noticed, though, he simply received a _‘Congratulations’_ then a _‘Too bad’_ , and a pat on the back. The interaction was awkward, to say the least, and Red looked uncomfortable watching the exchange.

Green didn’t expect anything less.

There was a celebration through the night, almost all of Pallet Town staying up in honour of their new champions. The last thing Green wanted was to celebrate, however, and with how Red stayed glued to his seat, patting Pikachu on his lap, he guessed the boy felt the same.

“I need to talk to you” was all Green said before grabbing Red by the wrist and yanking him out of his seat, Pikachu jumping off in a panic and being left behind to watch his trainer be dragged off in confusion.

The two of them ended up walking behind the lab together, the place dimly lit and quiet, away from the celebration completely. Red stood awkwardly as he watched Green lean against the wall, arms crossed and sighing dejectedly, then let the silence envelope both of them. No words were said for a long while, Red just staring at Green blankly while the other looked to the ground with a frown. When he looked up, they made eye contact for a slight second, and Red quickly looked away. For whatever reason, this pricked Green with irritation.

“We’ve battled so many times” Green finally spoke, “yet we’re still so awkward with each other. Shows how much we grew on our journey, huh?”

Red didn’t answer, he couldn’t answer, but even if he could speak, Green doubted he’d say anything in the moment. He looked at the champion for a bit longer, then let out a heavy exhale when turning back towards the ground.

“I thought it’d take longer, you know? I was expecting, well, more I guess. I wanted to be preoccupied for a little bit longer.” At this, Red looked up at him, but Green didn’t notice as he grabbed Blastoise’s poké ball from his belt to expand it, then look down at it with a furrowed brow. “My Pokémon have grown, they’ve evolved literally and figuratively, but I feel…exactly the same. This whole journey I’ve been excited for ever since I was a kid, it’s already over, and absolutely nothing about me has changed.”

Red looked at him sympathetically, Green only staring down at Blastoise’s ball while his grip on it tightened. He got through all the gyms, he evolved all his Pokémon, he beat the Elite Four and he became champion for a few minutes. His name was in the history books, he’d gotten everything he ever wanted, yet, apart from the newly acquired fame, nothing had changed. The only times he felt challenged, the only times he felt like he was growing, was…

Green looked back up at the champion, who was staring at him with, what Green thought to be, pity. Any other time it would’ve pissed him off, but in that moment he could only stare back, still clenching Blastoise’s ball tight. Then, with a slight smile, Green let out a quiet laugh.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you this, I guess I thought you’d get it.”

Red glanced off to the side, looking almost sad. It looked like he wanted to speak, or try to say something, but ultimately gave up on it. Green stared at him for a moment longer before putting Blastoise back on his belt.

“So…what do you plan on doing now?”

It seemed Red actually had an answer for that one, and looked towards Green before tapping a poké ball on his belt. Green glanced down at his belt, then back up at the champion.

“Catch more Pokémon?” he guessed with a raised eyebrow, to which Red shook his head and insistently tapped again. “Oh, train? You’re going to keep training them?”

Red nodded, and Green wasn’t shocked at the answer whatsoever. Of course, what else was there to do?

The champion suddenly pointed at Green, making him blink in confusion.

“Me?”

He pointed again.

“Oh, what am I doing?”

Red nodded and smiled slightly, but didn’t receive an answer straight away as Green took his time to think about it, a deep frown implanted on his face as he did so.

“I guess…” he started slowly “probably the same as you? Training and such, since there’s nothing else.”

Red frowned, obviously not happy with the answer. Green couldn’t help but let out an amused huff at his angry expression.

“Oh, don’t be like that. You look just like gramps.”

The champion’s face immediately softened at that, and he glanced to the ground, almost guiltily. Green stared for a moment longer, let out a loud sigh and rolled his head back, letting it hit the wall to focus on the night sky above him.

The stars were shining as bright as they usually did, but for some reason, in that moment, they seemed still. There was no movement, no twinkle, nothing. Green guessed – no, he knew – it was just in his eyes.

How depressing.

“Hey, Red, promise me something” he spoke, catching said boy’s attention. “Whatever you plan to do, or wherever you plan on going, keep in touch with me, yeah?”

Red made a face of confusion, but blinked when Green smiled softly at him.

“You’re the only one that can give me a good battle, after all.”

…

Turns out keeping in touch with Red meant him disappearing up a mountain, and Green didn’t know what emotion to feel when the boy’s mother told him he’d planned to stay on Mt. Silver for an unknown amount of time.

There was disappointment, confusion, anger, – oh, there was a lot of anger – and Green felt his foot twitch with the odd desire to just _kick something_. Maybe Red’s head, that’d be a good thing to kick.

Green always knew Red was strange, liked to be secluded with his Pokémon, but running up a mountain of ice and death to train and live was taking isolation to the extreme. He did have a mind to go up Mt. Silver in attempt to follow the other, but a small part of him told him Red must’ve had a plan to do something so ridiculous, so he held himself back for the time being.

However, Green quickly found himself being sidetracked by the amount of popularity winning the Indigo League had brought him. Over the course of a few months, he found himself swept up by television interviews and commercial advertisements; every channel was desperate for an interview and every photographer begged for a photoshoot.

He answered question after question, some he found enjoyable (such as battle types and battle strategies), and others he found to be a complete waste of time (such as his favourite foods and his favourite season). The questions quickly got repetitive, though, he could only say how he beat the Elite Four so many times, and the fans were getting louder. He loved his name being chanted as much as anyone else would, but eventually the obsessive screeching became like nails on a chalkboard. The repetition, the noise, it felt like his brain was melting from the sheer superficiality of it all. Nothing felt beneficial, nothing felt like a good use of time, and each photoshoot, each interview, molded together in a blur.

For Green, what he needed was clear. He needed to find something to do, something productive, but first and foremost, he absolutely needed quiet.

This is what led him to Viridian forest, walking until the sun just barely shined through the bushy trees. He’d made sure to go in as far as he could without getting lost, where no other trainers would bother to wander, and fell back against a tree to slide to the grassy ground. The only sounds were those of Pidgeys chirping, Beedrills buzzing, and Butterfrees fluttering, and Green found his mind at rest in the solitude.

The only problem, however, the quiet had his thoughts racing.

_“What are you going to do now?”_

What _was_ he going to do now?

The question sat with him uncomfortably; there was no answer for it.

Green supposed he could bask in his fame; do photoshoots and interviews for as long as his relevancy allowed him, but it felt pointless. Going on a journey, at least, was productive. Raising Pokémon, becoming a better trainer, that was beneficial. There was always the option of traveling another region, but he didn’t see the point of it, with how lackluster his Kanto journey had been.

Sure, he’d grown as a trainer, but not as a person. Everything was still the same, it was all the same, and it was driving him mad. His brain was buzzing to do something, to be active and spend his time effectively, but he didn’t know what that meant.

Green’s mind suddenly drifted to Red, and how confident the champion was in his answer.

_“Training.”_

He clearly had a plan.

“Arceus, I can’t take this” Green sighed, putting his head in his hands as he sighed in frustration.

An existential crisis at ten years old, what a fantastic life he was leading.

There was a sudden rustle in the bushes, causing Green to jump and instinctively whip a hand to his Pokémon belt. He stayed still, glaring at the bushes in front of him, but found himself blinking in surprise when a small Eevee came limping out with a pained cry.

The Pokémon looked around, fear evident in its eyes, but seemed to have a twinkle of hope when seeing Green in front it. It tried to limp over to him, one paw horribly damaged and bleeding, but fell heavily to the ground after a single step.

Green quickly made his way over to the hurt Pokémon, leaning over it to analyse it for a moment before tenderly scooping it into his arms.

“What are you doing here?” Green muttered, more so to himself than the Pokémon. Eevees weren’t found in Viridian Forest, and it looked unowned, so how it got there was beyond him.

Suddenly, the bushes shook once more, and out of it jumped two men dressed in identical outfits with metal rods in their hands. The outfits caught Green’s eye, though, and he noticed a big red _‘R’_ on the front of them.

Team Rocket, of course.

“Give us back that Eevee, kid” one of the grunts demanded, his tone menacing.

“I thought you guys had been wiped out” Green questioned, completely unaffected by the threat.

One of the grunts laughed obnoxiously “Just because the boss is gone doesn’t mean we are, that stupid kid didn’t get all of us.”

“Right” Green mumbled, looking between the two with a frown.

The Eevee in his arms stirred, opening its eyes to see the Team Rocket grunts and immediately letting out a terrified squeal, burying its head deep into Green’s chest. The trainer looked back up, stared at the metal rods, and narrowed his eyes at the grunts.

“Kid, we won’t ask again, give us that Pokémon” the grunt threatened, lifting his metal rod in intimidation.

“Sorry, can’t do that” Green shrugged, picking Alakazam off his belt and enlarging the ball. The grunts laughed at the action, and Green found himself smirking back, “Wow, you have no idea who I am, do you?”

It was over in a blink, Alakazam locking the two in the air with psychic and levitating them through the forest with Green until finding the police. They were thanked for bringing in the criminals, but Green had no time to stay for the praise, the Eevee in his arms needing immediate medical attention.

He brought the Pokémon to the Pokémon center in Viridian City, the Chansey seeing him immediately going into a panic and taking the Eevee from his arms to run it over to the nurse. Green found himself sitting at the Pokémon center for at least three hours, in that time he’d slowly been surrounded by aspiring trainers and answered any questions they asked.

He missed the quiet of the forest.

Finally, when the nurse came out with Eevee, the little Pokémon had a cast around its paw and a few more bandages tied around its body and head.

“We had to operate on the front leg” the nurse explained, “the bone had been horribly fractured. If this Eevee doesn’t have someone to help keep it healthy, its leg will form a permanent limp.”

Green stared down at the little Eevee for a long while, the Pokémon looking shy as it glanced up at him every now and then. Green never planned on having an Eevee on his team, especially one so small, but he had nothing else to do with his time. Maybe nurturing an Eevee would be a valuable experience anyway.

“I’ll do it” Green smiled, and grabbed an empty poké ball from his bag to hold it in front of Eevee.

The little Pokémon seemed unsure for a moment, but stared up at Green’s soft smile for a long while before letting out a happy trill and touching the ball with its paw.

For two weeks, Green cared for Eevee nonstop, doing as much as he could to make it healthy again. He noticed his grandpa watching him, analysing his every move, but as always, said nothing. Yet, Green thought the look in his eye was softer than it usually was.

It was probably just his imagination.

It was during one day at home, with Green sat on the floor helping Eevee with its exercises while Daisy and Red’s mother were having tea at the dining table, that Red came through the door unannounced. Everyone whipped their heads up to see him and Pikachu squeaked happily as it jumped off his shoulder towards Red’s mother.

“Oh honey, you’re back!” she spoke brightly, picking Pikachu up in her arms to pat him fondly.

Red noticed Green on the floor, blinking at him blankly, and Green wasn’t sure how to feel. The guy had been up a mountain for two months and suddenly he just shows up in his home, without warning? Whether to be relieved or angry, Green really wasn’t sure.

“So you’ve come back down, huh?” Green frowned, Red taking a while to nod in response “Thanks for telling me, by the way. Really appreciate that.”

Red glanced to the side, an expression of guilt on his face, and Green yelped as Daisy stood up to lightly whack her little brother’s head.

“The least you could do is be welcoming” she hissed, then offered Red a cup of tea.

Green clicked his tongue in annoyance, the Eevee at his feet looking between Red and Green with wide eyes, confused about the situation. He had to pat her softly to calm her down, making sure she wasn’t overwhelmed with a stranger in the house.

“It’s just a friend, girl, don’t worry.”

Red was immediately intrigued with the small Pokémon, slowly making his way over to it as not to scare it. Timidly, he sat down next to Green, then inspected Eevee. Straight away he noticed the cast on its front leg, and he turned to Green, looking for an explanation.

“Team Rocket” Green deadpanned, seeing the anger flash across Red’s eyes “turns out you didn’t get all of them, bud. I found them chasing this little one, so I guess she’s mine now.”

The champion pursed his lips together, staring at Eevee with a furrowed brow and tightly clenched fists. With a sigh, Green lifted his hand to tilt the front of Red’s cap down, causing the boy to jump in shock.

“Stop looking so serious, there’s only bits and pieces left that the police are cleaning up. You took down the organisation, but there’ll always be the dirt you missed.”

Silently, Red repositioned his cap, but his face was despondent. Green stared at him, a small frown on his face, and thought for a moment before looking back towards Eevee.

“It’s not your fault, moron. You did more than the police, more Pokémon are safe now, and you didn’t have to do any of it.”

It was a surprisingly kind thing for Green to say, even if it came off in a snarky tone. Red looked at him with wide eyes, clearly surprised, and Green found himself flushing slightly at the unwavering gaze.

“What? It's true!” Green huffed, embarrassed at the amused smile Red gave him “Whatever, I’m still pissed at you. What you come down for, anyway?”

Red looked up in thought for a moment, then made a gesture as if he was eating.

“Oh, food? You ran out?”

The champion nodded, and Green lifted an eyebrow.

“You brought enough for two months? I thought it’d be way longer.”

With a confused expression, Red tilted his head slightly, and Green shrugged.

“Sorry, I was expecting you to start living up there or something, like a caveman. The way you vanished was kind of dramatic, you know.”

Red insistently shook his head, looking insulted at the assumption, making Green chuckle slightly. Eevee stared between the two, waving her tail slightly as she decided Red was nice enough and slowly walked up to him. The champion blinked down at her, then extended his hand out to let her sniff at it, eventually granting him permission to pat her.

Green didn’t expect anything less from the champion.

Pikachu made his way back over to his trainer upon noticing the little Pokémon, squeaking just a bit too loudly to make Eevee startle and quickly hop behind Green. The electric type made an apologetic expression, something both trainers found amusing.

They watched as Eevee peeked out from around Green, and with an encouraging nudge from her trainer, slowly limped towards Pikachu. The two Pokémon sniffed each other curiously, until Pikachu let out a happy squeak and jumped around the little Pokémon, encouraging her to play. Pikachu made sure to move around as much as Eevee was capable of being able to, their two trainers watching just in case.

Pikachu had always been good with other Pokémon, so Green wasn’t too concerned.

“Is your training going well?” Green asked the champion, who turned towards him and gave a small nod “I guess it’s good to work on getting stronger, since you’ll probably be getting a few challengers.”

Red nodded again, then looked like he wanted to say something, but frowned in irritation as he couldn’t figure out how to bring it across. It was as if a light bulb went off in his head, however, and he suddenly grabbed his backpack to rummage through it and pulled out a pencil and notepad.

Green watched, intrigued, as Red scribbled something down, then blinked when the notepad was held up to his face.

_Have you figured out what you want to do?_

The question annoyed him slightly, mostly because he still didn’t have an answer. Still, Green thought of how to respond, and sighed at the champion.

“Well, no, not really.” Red looked at him sadly, but Green continued “I want to do something meaningful, not all this celebrity stuff that people keep trying to shove me into. Looking after Eevee is preoccupying me for now, but I don’t know what to do afterwards.”

Red stared at Green with sympathy, which only turned sadder with what Green said next.

“I want to do something that’ll make things change, but I have no idea what that is.”

The two sat quietly, Green watching the Pokémon play while Red stared down with a frown. He tapped the pencil he held on his notepad, trying to think of a way to help the other. An idea had come to mind, but he wasn’t too sure about it, although it wouldn’t hurt to suggest it.

Red started writing words, Green not even taking notice until Red held the notepad up. The words on it, though, confused Green greatly.

_Why not study with the professor?_

“Are you joking?” Green scoffed, his look incredulous.

Red simply shrugged, flipped the notepad back one page to the previous question to show Green, then back to the suggestion, and tapped it with his finger. Green understood, but he didn’t like it.

“Look, I know I said something meaningful, but studying with gramps? That’s a hell I’d rather not go through.”

Red held his chin in thought, trying to figure out how to help the other. It seemed he didn’t have to, however, as Green had a sudden idea.

“Oh, I could always go back to school, couldn’t I?”

The idea had Red making a sour face, something Green rolled his eyes at.

“I know you hate school, champion, but I need something to keep me busy.” At that, Green stood up, confidently placing his hands on his hips and grinning widely “Alright, starting next year I’m enrolling back in school, surely that’ll be beneficial.”

Red wasn’t too sure about the decision, but smiled anyway, happy to see Green’s confidence back.

...

Throughout the rest of the year, Green spent his time healing Eevee. The Pokémon’s health was slowly improving, and after a few months, it was able to run around freely; the cast being the only thing restricting it. Green found bringing his Arcanine out to play with the little Pokémon had her wanting to get up on her feet more, but needed Alakazam to watch them considering Arcanine could get a bit too excited.

Finally, Eevee was allowed to have its cast taken off, but Green still needed to keep up her daily exercises for a few more months to make sure the leg had completely healed.

During one night, the professor watched from the dinner table as his grandson stretched Eevee’s leg, making sure to be tender as not to hurt her. He usually came home late, having to heat up the leftovers from the dinner Daisy made, considering he’d spend far too long in the lab. Green never paid any mind to it, that is, until his grandfather made a small comment.

“I’m impressed you’ve looked after that Eevee so well.”

Green blinked, still staring down at Eevee, but glanced towards his grandfather to see the man with his head down in research notes while eating simultaneously. There was silence, and for the first time ever, the air wasn’t heavy between them. Instead, it felt warm, and Green looked back at his smiling Eevee in bewilderment.

The professor then went on to say “It’s reckless to let it play with Arcanine, though.”

Of course, he had to ruin it.

Red would come down from Mt. Silver almost every two weeks, some of his trips being longer than others, but Eevee was happy to see him each time and was especially happy to see Pikachu. Their conversations stayed the same, sometimes awkward, sometimes comforting, but Green couldn’t deny he was glad to see the champion each time he came back to Pallet.

They were staying in contact, just as Red had promised.

At eleven years old, Green enrolled back into school, causing an uproar throughout his classes. He still had his celebrity status, even a lot of the teachers were star struck by him, so he came to expect it. This caused him to somewhat seclude himself, however, and turned back to his habit of sitting in a quiet corner to read through book after book.

For five years, Green invested himself in studying. He was definitely far more interested in Pokémon topics, which was predictable, but found he could quickly get his head around most subjects. Through those years nothing eventful happened, it was just routine, and he found studying was a great way to keep his mind busy.

His classmates got used to him, Eevee’s leg had healed completely, and he still made sure to train his Pokémon as to not slack off. Green would always put being a Pokémon trainer above being a student; he’d been the champion, after all.

At sixteen, however, he was thrown out of his usual routine when receiving a call from Lance. The Elite Four member requested to meet him in Viridian City, apparently the matter being something they needed to talk in person about.

Green agreed, skipping class for the day to meet with the dragon trainer at a quiet café.

“Still wearing capes, I see” Green mocked as he sat down, the elite member frowning at the childishness of it.

“I didn’t bring you here to make fun of my clothing choice.”

Green couldn’t help his snicker “Sorry, I’m just surprised, the last time I saw you was at that Kanto leaders gathering. A very obnoxious event, by the way.”

“Exceptional people will be celebrated” Lance deadpanned while taking a sip of his coffee, Green rolled his eyes.

“Strange, considering the most exceptional of them is never at the event, hm?”

Lance placed his coffee down, glancing at Green with a tired look “It’s no fault of mine that the champion doesn’t prefer going to those events. You’d know, being the closest to him.”

“I know he thinks they’re a waste of time” Green shrugged, and Lance let out a sigh.

“Listen, Green, I brought you here because I have a proposal for you.” Green raised his eyebrows, staring at the elite member to beckon him to continue. “The Viridian Gym has been leaderless for six years now, we’ve had stand in trainers to take care of it, but having no solid gym leader has become a problem we can’t ignore.”

Green got the gist of it.

“So, what you’re asking me is?”

Lance took another sip of his coffee “The league is asking if you want to be the Viridian Gym Leader.”

The request was certainly interesting, and Green both understood and couldn’t understand why they decided he was the best pick.

“But I don’t have a Pokémon type” Green questioned, “do I need to get one if I agree?”

Lance shook his head, “Traditionally, yes, but at this point we’re fine with anything you decide.”

Green leaned forward, folding his hands under his chin in thought. It was a big decision for sure, and being a gym leader was the dream for many, but Green felt he was chosen more out of desperation than suitability for the role.

“Give me a week, then I can give you an answer.”

Lance agreed, and with a stern goodbye, finished his coffee and took off on his Dragonite. Green had no idea where he goes or what he does all day.

When returning to Pallet Town, Green opened the door of his house to have Eevee immediately jump on him, followed by Pikachu. Expecting one but not the other, Green stumbled back, managing to regain his balance while the two Pokémon sat on either shoulder. Pikachu squeaked at him happily, and with a light frown, the teen gave the electric type a pat.

Green looked towards the dining room to see Red and Daisy sitting together, his sister babbling on about her day while Red sat awkwardly, blinking a few too many times as he tried to keep up with whatever it was she was saying.

“Yo” Green greeted, the two of them turning towards him.

“Ah, Green!” Daisy beamed “Good thing you’re here, I’ve been meaning to head out but I didn’t want to leave Red on his own.”

Green raised an eyebrow, “You could’ve just told him that, you know. He lives right next to us.”

Daisy argued about how it was bad manners to do such a thing, with Green rolling his eyes and Red flushing in embarrassment at the situation. The light quarrel didn’t last long, however, Daisy announcing she had somewhere to be and grabbed her bag to walk out; but not before giving her brother’s forehead a flick.

“Sorry about her,” Green apologised as he rubbed his forehead and sat down, Red only shook his head in understanding. “So, back down from the mountain again, huh? You were up there for two months this time; was worried you’d died or something.”

Red blinked in shock, looking upset at the assumption. Green let out a huff of amusement.

“I’m joking, of course you’d be fine up there. You’ve got your Pokémon, after all.”

Green rubbed Pikachu’s red cheeks as he said this, the electric type squealing in delight at the affection. Eevee seemed to get jealous at the action, though, and jumped over to Red to receive pats from the other trainer. Green always found her pettiness somewhat amusing.

“You’ve got good timing, though. I just got a proposition from Lance and I’m not sure what to do about it.”

Red looked up with curious eyes while patting Eevee, silently telling him to continue.

“Apparently the league needs a leader for the Viridian Gym, you know, ever since the Giovanni fiasco.” Red nodded, Eevee now rolled onto her back as he scratched her belly. “Well, turns out they’re so desperate that they’ve asked me to be the leader.”

Eevee’s pats effectively came to a stop, Red blinking in surprise at the information. Green smiled slightly, then leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

“I know, that’s what I thought. It’s why I haven’t decided yet.”

The champion stared for a bit longer, then started patting his pant pockets, digging into one of them when finding what he was looking for to pull out his notepad and pencil. With a quick scribble of lead, Red held a question up for Green to read.

_Do you want to?_

The teen bit his lip to mull it over, Pikachu jumping off his shoulder as he did so to chase Eevee off the table and around the room. It took a while before he answered.

“I don’t know…”

Silence.

“…would you do it?”

Red tapped the pencil to his chin in thought, taking only a minute before he decisively shook his head. Green groaned at that.

“You’re a pretty straightforward thinking guy, huh? It’s of no help to me.”

Red looked apologetic, but Green waved him off as he leaned against his hand to keep thinking it over. The champion watched him as he pondered, and scribbled something down for Green to read.

_How are you thinking about this?_

“Ah, well,” Green started unsurely “to be honest, I’m thinking about my education. If I choose to be a gym leader, there’s no doubt the responsibility of it will consume all my time. If that’s the case, I won’t be able to keep up with school.”

Red quickly scribbled something else down, and Green huffed in amusement at the response.

_Then I would be a gym leader._

“Shut up, idiot” Green smiled, grabbing Red’s cap to yank it into his face.

Jokes aside, Green seriously had no idea what to do. He was in his senior years of high school now, and this allowed him to choose certain electives. They were all Pokémon topics, of course, but he’d found them to be interesting. Evolution was something he’d especially become fascinated in, and he’d been considering going to university to continue his studies after graduating. Green felt it was a good use of his time, but he also felt he was prolonging having to actually answer the dreaded question that still stuck in the back of his mind from years ago.

_“What are you going to do now?”_

High school led to university, but when he finished university, then what? Not only that, but as great as school was, he still felt the same as his child self. He’d spend his days sitting in the library, absorbing himself in information about Pokémon. The only thing that changed were books had become computers and the information was much more high level; beyond simple trainer knowledge.

Even so, was becoming a gym leader a good enough answer to the question?

“Red” Green started, said teen giving him his attention, “do you think being a gym leader would change things?”

The champion seemed confused, furrowing his brow slightly. Green shook his head and waved him off after seeing the expression.

“Never mind, forget it.”

Six years ago, Green finished his Pokémon journey and felt unchanged by the end of it. Six years later, and Green still felt unchanged. He knew more, sure, but there was nothing different about him. All he wanted to do was keep to himself and read just so he could be better, exactly as he did when he was a child.

Red, on the other hand, seemed different. Overall the guy was the same, but he had a mysterious and confident aura about him that Green didn’t remember him having when starting out on their journey at ten years old. Green had a strong drive, but he was always filled with uncertainty on where to direct that drive, while everything Red did was filled with certainty.

To be straightforward, to know exactly what you want to do and grow because of it, Green couldn’t help but envy it.

“Hey” Green spoke, catching Red’s attention once more, “have you gotten taller?”

…

Green ultimately decided to reject the gym leader offer, which Lance was understanding about. The teen had no idea what they were going to do, but it wasn’t any of his concern now. Green had come to the conclusion that being a gym leader, having battle after battle, would’ve been a bad use of his time. He didn’t want to be stuck in a repetitive role, having no doubt he would’ve quickly become tired of it until his brain turned to mush with each boring battle; just as it had with the celebrity interviews and photoshoots.

Studying kept the gears in his head turning, kept him satisfied for the moment, and it was definitely better to stay on that path. So Green stayed in school, aced every test he took and completed every assignment he was given, and graduated at eighteen with some of the highest grades in Kanto.

There was never any doubt of his genius – most of his peers expected it – which is why his grandfather showed no emotion to the news apart from the usual _‘Congratulations’_ and pat on the back.

Once again, nothing had changed. Daisy had a fiancé, though, so that was something.

Daisy held a graduation party for her little brother, inviting his classmates and her own friends over since Green didn’t really befriend anyone throughout his seven years of school. It was almost like déjà vu from when he’d completed his Kanto journey, the celebration being something he didn’t particularly want to celebrate. The only difference was Eevee happily prancing around with Pokémon that belonged to the other graduates, and Red was nowhere to be seen. Odd, considering Red’s mother was present and talking to Daisy.

Even odder, he knew Red was in Pallet Town.

Green put down the drink he was holding to head out the door, not one person paying attention to it. He stood outside where the music was muffled and put a hand to his head, eyes narrowed in thought. He felt absolutely shitty.

School was done, so university was next, but then what?

Then what?

_Then what?_

He could never be happy when completing something, all he could do was worry for what he’d do next. It was a stupid way to think, but he couldn’t stop himself from doing it.

Green groaned and ran a hand through his hair, then dropped his head back to look up at the night sky. Seven years it had been, and he was trying to think of something, _anything_ that’d changed about him. But as always, there was nothing, and that shitty feeling only built as he stared into the sky.

The stars were still, just as they had always been, ever since he was ten.

Loud cheers from the house had the teen dropping his head down, letting out a heavy breath when deciding he should probably go back inside. Upon turning around, however, he noticed the house next to his – Red’s house – had a light on. Not only that, but Red stood on the balcony with his arms crossed and leaning on the balustrade, simply staring at Green.

When making eye contact, Red seemed to panic slightly, quickly looking away and into the distance. Green raised an eyebrow, glanced to the commotion of his house, and made a quick decision as he walked towards his neighbour’s house.

“Hey!” he called from the front yard, Red looking down at him curiously, “Can I come in?”

There was a pause as Red blinked, but slowly, he nodded.

Green discovered the front door wasn’t locked and made his way into the house, having to blindly walk up the stairs as the only light came from Red’s room. Surprisingly, Green hadn’t been over to the champion’s house much, mostly coming over with Daisy to see Red’s mother. They tended to meet up at the Oak household the majority of the time.

When reaching Red’s room, Green saw the other standing on his balcony with the doors shut, Pikachu sleeping on the bed in his room soundly. Quietly, Green made his way through the room, trying not to disturb Pikachu as best he could. Lucky for him the balcony doors weren’t loud to open, and he slowly closed them behind himself as he joined Red, who stared at him in greeting.

“Hey champion” Green smiled, “having fun observing from up here?”

Red blushed slightly, grabbing the front of his cap to tilt it down in attempt to hide his face.

Green snickered “I’m just teasing, but I have to say, I am kind of offended you didn’t join my graduation party. Am I suddenly not worth your time anymore?”

Red quickly and furiously shook his head, obviously afraid of Green getting the wrong idea. He was always so easy to rile up.

“Calm down, I don’t mean it” Green sighed as he followed Red’s example and leaned on the balustrade, “you keep coming down from that mountain, after all. Although I guess that’s more for food, right?”

Red glanced towards the other, his gaze on Green unwavering, the man unnoticing of it as he stared out at nothing. Red had to quickly shift his eyes away, however, when Green turned towards him.

“Seriously, though, why didn’t you come over? There’s not really anyone for me to talk to in there, Eevee’s having a better time than I am.”

Red made a slightly unpleasant expression, pointed towards Green’s booming house, then to his own ears.

“The noise?” Green questioned, receiving a nod in return “Oh, I see, parties are too loud.”

Red nodded again.

“Yeah, can’t say I’m a fan of it either.”

The two stood in silence together as they looked over Pallet Town shrouded in the darkness of the night, the muffled noise from the Oak household being the only sound between them. Green let out a long breath while he zoned out, a question on the tip of his tongue but unsure if it was appropriate to ask or not.

It probably wasn’t, but he was desperate to ask it.

“Can I ask a weird question?” Green spoke, Red turning to him inquisitively “Do you know why my gramps likes you so much?”

Red blinked once, then twice, and turned to look over the balcony. He furrowed his brow for a moment, legitimately thinking about it, but seemed to give up and turned back towards Green to shrug.

“Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t know” Green mumbled, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Red’s eyes softened as he looked at Green, the man completely dejected, and tried to think of how to lighten the situation.

With a tap of his shoulder, Green turned towards the champion, who thought for a moment before pointing at him.

“Me?” Green questioned.

Red nodded, then lifted his arms to make an _‘X’_ symbol.

Green raised an eyebrow, “Deny?”

The champion shook his head, and made the symbol again.

“Doesn’t?”

With a nod, Red dropped his arms and pointed at Green again.

“Me…doesn’t…” Green mumbled, trying to figure out what the other was saying.

Red then pointed at the lab – which was down the road from the Oak household – and looked towards Green.

“Lab…gramps?” Green guessed, Red nodding and pointing back at Green, “Me, doesn’t, gramps...are you trying to say gramps doesn’t like me?”

Red quickly shook his head, but encouraged him to try again.

“Gramps doesn’t…hate me?” Green guessed, receiving a pleased nod from Red. Green frowned at that, and turned his back towards the balustrade to lean against it “Well, I guess we’re both right. Gramps doesn’t hate me, sure, but he doesn’t like me either.”

Red gave Green a doleful look, the other glancing at the champion for a short moment before clicking his tongue at the pitiful expression.

“Don’t worry about it, he’s been like that for ages” Green scowled, titling his head to look back up at the night sky in thought. “Although, I do remember when he used to be warmer. That was before my parents, though, and the accident. It’s been years, I’m starting to forget it.”

Green trailed off, eyes going blank as he kept them glued to the sky.

That’s right, his grandfather had been warmer to him, but it was such a distant memory that it felt more like a dream than the reality that used to be. Those were the days his parents were around, where he had a complete family that loved him. Now he was left with Daisy, who sacrificed most of her teen years to learn how to care for him, and his grandfather, who barely bothered to care for him. However, as Daisy always said, the professor was a busy man; even though his research rapidly picked up after his parent’s death.

He was too spaced out to notice Red fidget next to him, and blinked back to reality when the man lightly grabbed his wrist. Green turned to him, expression blank for a while, but smiled apologetically at the other.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you this. You don’t need to hear it.”

Red shook his head and waved his hands, then glanced off to the side for a moment – looking conflicted – before he took a deep breath and pointed at himself.

“You.” Green deadpanned, receiving a nod.

Red hesitated for a moment, then slowly turned his finger towards Green.

“Me.” Green deadpanned again, receiving a slower nod this time.

Red stayed still for a while, but turned his finger back towards himself.

“You and me?” Green questioned, to which Red swallowed hard, then placed a flat palm over the left side of his own chest.

Green was lost.

“What, heart? Heartbeat?” Red nodded timidly, and Green hit his fist in his palm in understanding. “Oh, beat! You’re asking to for us to battle, right?”

Red looked like he was about to have a heart attack, wondering how in the world Green got the implication to battle out of that.

Green frowned in confusion, Red’s expression telling him he got it completely wrong.

“Can’t you get your notepad? I have no idea what you’re asking of me.”

Red sighed and shook his head, his way of telling Green to forget it, and stood with him against the balustrade as he looked up to admire the night sky.

Green stared at the champion for a moment longer, still trying to figure out whatever it was he wanted to say, but instead found himself noticing how he needed to crane his neck to look at Red’s face. When in the world did he start towering over him so significantly?

“What is on that mountain to have you so tall, didn’t we used to be the same height?”

Red turned to him with a stupid look, staring down and blinking dumbly.

Green also noticed the bulging biceps on Red that he somehow hadn’t noticed before, frowning and wondering just _how_ he hadn’t noticed them until now.

“What the hell are you doing on that mountain, are you bench pressing Charizard or something?”

Red blushed slightly, looking down at himself to figure out what Green was talking about. The trainer just huffed and yanked the champion’s cap into his face.

“You’re still a moron, you’re just a tall one now” Green complained with a light pout.

Red couldn’t hide his fond smile as he repositioned his cap.

...

Green was scolded by Daisy the next morning for leaving his own celebration, something he graciously reminded her was her idea to hold, and found himself reluctant to tell her where he’d gone for the night.

Strange, honestly, since all he and Red did was talk. Why he felt embarrassed to tell Daisy that, he didn’t know.

He helped clean the house to make up for it, and after the graduation party was over and the post-graduation buzz was gone, Green was left with unwanted free time; something he spent on deciding on a university.

Choosing a university ended up being harder than Green expected, he knew he wanted to further his studies in Pokémon evolution but didn’t know where to study it. At first, he thought he’d stay in Kanto, but Daisy reminded him he had the choice of multiple regions. Kanto didn’t particularly specialise in evolution, not when their top professor – aka his grandfather – focused on the relationship between humans and Pokémon.

Hoenn and Unova were completely off the table, considering both regions didn’t have any universities or professors that specialised in evolution. Alola, even more so, the region being more of a holiday getaway than a place to study unless studying with the top professor of the region himself, who also didn’t care for evolution.

Johto was something Green considered, with Professor Elm specialising in Pokémon breeding which could go hand in hand with evolution - depending on how it was studied - but ultimately decided he was more taken by the idea of the region being close to Kanto than the actual education.

Sinnoh and Kalos seemed to be his two best bets, with Sinnoh focusing on evolution and Kalos focusing on mega evolution, although Kalos did have the language barrier. They were so far from Kanto, though, he was hesitant to study in either region.

Green didn’t realise he had a slight paranoia of being so far from home, discovering he’d actually never been out of region before, with all he could think of being everyone he’d leave behind if he did. Daisy, his grandfather, even Red; oddly enough, especially Red. Green was the one that made them promise to keep in touch, so to leave Kanto would make Green the one reneging on it.

For days he struggled over the decision, but it was a visit to the lab that helped him make up his mind.

It was early morning when Green made his way to his grandfather’s lab with Eevee next to him, feeling nervous and needing to swallow his pride as he planned to ask the man about what to do. Green had never asked his grandfather for anything in his life – apart from a Pokémon – so doing so for the first time at eighteen made him far too anxious. Eevee being there for emotional support was a must.

Green could somewhat guess what his grandfather would say, though.

_“Of course you should study overseas, it’s what you want, isn’t it? You clearly don’t want to help me with my work, so why stay here?”_

Yeah, something like that.

When he opened the doors, Green was met with the sound of warm laughter, something he definitely didn’t expect. The only time his grandfather smiled was around either Daisy or Red, and with Daisy being out with her fiancé, Green concluded it must’ve been Red in the lab. But even that didn’t make sense, Green distinctly remembered the guy going back up the mountain a day after the graduation party.

So, with far too much curiosity, Green walked through the lab to where his grandfather’s work desk was to find him laughing with another older man. The man was smiling, but even through his smile had a very serious undertone, and wore a long, brown trench coat. Green immediately recognised who he was, stopping in his tracks from pure astonishment.

“Oh, Green” his grandfather noticed, “what are you doing here?”

The other man turned to the younger trainer, Green now confident he knew the man.

“I came to ask something, I guess” Green started, Professor Oak raising his eyebrows in surprise at the answer. Green, however, was now far too interested in the guest to notice it, “Sorry for interrupting, but you wouldn’t happen to be Professor Rowan, would you?”

The man in question nodded “And you’re Green Oak, I presume. Your grandfather’s told me much about you.”

Green blinked in bewilderment, staring at his grandfather with wide eyes for an explanation.

“Ah, right,” Professor Oak started “I suppose you didn’t know. Professor Rowan is an old friend of mine, he specialises in evolution and has noticed patterns in Pokémon evolution and human connection. He’s come to research about Pokémon and their trainers.”

Green didn’t need an introduction; with evolution being the path he wanted to pursue, he knew exactly who the man was. He’d read every paper the professor had released, used them for multiple assignments in school, but most he read out of his own curiosity for evolution.

“Gramps, you must’ve known I focused on evolution throughout school, but you never thought to tell me you’re old friends with the leading professor in it?” Green questioned, tone heavy with irritation.

His grandfather frowned unsurely, “Oh, really? I don’t recall Daisy telling me that.”

Honestly, Green knew he should’ve expected it, but it really put into perspective just how little he talked to the man. Eevee even let out a light huff next to him, evidently feeling the same.

Whatever, it was a conversation – or more likely, an argument – for another time.

Professor Rowan noticed Eevee at Green’s side, humming inquisitively.

“You have an Eevee, I see.”

Eevee looked up at the man with a curious blink, Green glancing down at his Pokémon then back to the professor with the same expression. “Uh- I mean, yes. I’ve had her for a few years, now.”

The professor raised his eyebrows, crouching down while placing a hand to his chin to examine the creature. Eevee was visibly nervous from the action, shuffling back timidly to hide behind her trainer’s leg.

“A few years, you say?” Professor Rowan inquired, “Yet it hasn’t evolved, even though it seems fond of you. Curious, is it not?”

Green had asked himself that same question in the past, but came to his own conclusion for why she hadn’t evolved.

“It’s because I don’t battle with her” he summarised confidently, “she doesn’t have any experience so she’s not at a proper level to evolve into anything.”

Professor Rowan stood up at the answer, “Interesting theory, but a Buneary in my town evolved without having battled. We think there may be no link to levels of experience when it comes to Pokémon evolving because of human connection.”

Green’s brow furrowed, looking back down at his Eevee quizzically. If that were truly the case, then he had no idea why the Eevee he’d cared for and nurtured for years hadn’t evolved. Professor Rowan, however, continued to analyse the situation.

“Has your Eevee displayed any interest in elements? Such as water, or even fire? This could be indication that it wants to evolve via a certain evolutionary stone.”

The trainer looked up in thought, trying to think of things Eevee liked specifically. She took baths when needed, but liked the water as much as any normal type. She enjoyed sitting by a fire, but only during the winter. Electricity was never something she seemed interested in, even being frightened by it whenever Pikachu would give her light, playful shocks. The snow she absolutely hated and the forest she wasn’t too excited about thanks to unpleasant memories concerning Team Rocket.

“No” Green concluded, “I can’t think of a time she was interested in any element.”

Professor Rowan was very interested with the answer, his eyes sparkling in intrigue while looking at Eevee.

“It could be that your Eevee doesn’t want to evolve, but we’re still unsure if Pokémon who evolve by human affection can actually choose whether they want to evolve or not. It’s hard to scientifically measure how much a Pokémon loves their trainer, after all.”

Green hummed, now uncertain of what his Eevee wanted. He’d thought about evolving her but she never wanted to battle to gain experience, and whenever he’d mention evolutionary stones she’d be uninterested. It was definitely a possibility she didn’t want to evolve.

“Are you interested in evolution, Green?” Professor Rowan asked, catching said teen’s attention.

“Oh, definitely, I’m planning to pursue it.”

“Have you chosen where to study? If not, I have a proposal for you.”

Professor Rowan explained how interested he was in Green and his Eevee, wanting to keep an eye on them to see if anything developed between Pokémon and trainer. The professor traveled to Kanto to find a trainer and Pokémon relationship similar to that of Green and Eevee’s – which was something Professor Oak was going to help him with – but concluded Green was the perfect candidate for his research. In return, Green would be taken on as his apprentice in Sinnoh, with no need to take any university courses beforehand as Rowan explained he had confidence in Green’s abilities.

It felt good to hear that from the professor Green had come to personally admire, especially with his own grandfather in the room who never uttered a word of encouragement. Professor Oak even looked slightly uncomfortable at Green’s smug smile, but still pushed Green to accept the offer.

Even with all the perks, making it sound like the opportunity of a lifetime, Green still requested time to consider. His grandfather seemed displeased, obviously finding him stupid to even need to think about it, and Green knew he definitely couldn’t ask his opinion of it now. Professor Rowan, however, wasn’t fussed, and told Green he could take his time to think since the option would stay open.

He was grateful, there was no doubt about it, but he still felt anxious from the thought of leaving Kanto. So he took his time in deciding, and three weeks later he was lying in his room with Eevee on his stomach, still not sure of what to do.

“What do you think of Sinnoh, Eevee?” Green mumbled, more to himself than the Pokémon, whose ears perked up. “Would you want to live there for a while? It wouldn’t be bad, but apart from the professor, we wouldn’t know anyone…”

Eevee mewled, stood up, and walked up Green’s torso to stand on his chest and look down at him with a wagging tail. He wrapped his hands around her little body to lift her up, holding her above his head while her paws dangled and she let out a happy trill.

“I don’t know what to do” Green singsonged as he waved her lightly from side to side, smiling lightly when Eevee started waving her paws around. Her eyes were filled with joy as she stared down at her trainer, making Green stop his movements and close his lips in a thin line to slant them to the side curiously.

She was obviously happy with him, Eevee untrusting of many people apart from him and a few others, and ever since Professor Rowan brought it up he was now completely unsure about Eevee and its evolution. Before talking to the professor, he never would’ve guessed she simply didn’t want to evolve.

“Do you want to evolve, Eevee?” he questioned, said Pokémon blinking curiously. He’d never asked the question before, but she quickly shook her head in response; something that somewhat surprised her trainer. “So you’re happy just being an Eevee, are you?” the Pokémon mewled loudly, and Green smiled fondly at her.

Guess he’d be stuck with an Eevee, then. Not like he minded.

There was a light knock on his door – interrupting the moment with Eevee – and turned towards it to see a tall teen with a red cap and a Pikachu enter the room shyly.

“Red?” Green blinked, putting Eevee down to sit up on his bed and greet the other, “You weren’t gone for long this time, miscalculate how much food to bring again?”

Usually Red would frown at the joke, completely unamused at any playful jabs Green sent his way, but he kept his eyes to the side as he stayed standing at the door. Pikachu even seemed less energetic than usual, still walking up to Eevee in a happy greeting but not jumping to chase after her like he usually did.

Green was completely unsettled by the atmosphere.

“Hey, champ? What’s up?” he tried to keep his smile.

Red looked like he had something to say, glancing at Green for a moment before looking away again, but didn’t make any indication of initiating conversation. It was when Green spoke up, however, that Red finally made eye contact with him.

“Oi, come and sit” Green demanded more than offered, the champion looking unsure for a moment but eventually walked towards the bed to place himself next to the teen.

Green stared at him with a furrowed brow, something Red was far too conscious of, and eventually got the guy to crack as he reached into his back pocket to pull out his notepad and pencil.

It took him a while to write something, lead hovering over paper for what felt like an eternity, but finally scribbled something for the other to read.

_The professor told me you’re moving to Sinnoh._

“Huh?” Green exclaimed, wondering why his grandfather had said such a thing. Did he assume he agreed to it?

Red blinked at Green’s shocked tone, dropping his notepad down slightly to silently ask for an explanation.

“Sorry, I don’t know why he told you that” Green huffed while running a hand through his hair, “I’ve been offered to study with Professor Rowan there, but I haven’t decided yet.”

A look of joy flashed across Red’s face, but disappeared quickly as he thought about what the teen said. With a light frown, he quickly scribbled something else down, insistently holding it up to Green.

_So you might go? You don’t know?_

“Well, I-“ Green started, cutting himself off when seeing the seriousness in Red’s eyes, “Why do you care this much? Unless you think you’re going to miss me.”

Red’s face flushed, quickly moving his hand to tilt his cap down slightly. Green couldn’t help the large smirk that spread across his face.

“Hey, would you miss me? You’d miss me, right?” he teased, bending down to try and look at Red’s face; the champion pulling his cap down the closer Green got.

Eventually Green stopped, sitting back with a chuckle as Red calmed himself down. The teen had gotten so hot that even his ears were pink, it was his own fault for being so fun to tease.

While Green let out a few more soft chuckles, Red quickly wrote something down and held it up to the other without looking. Green’s smile instantly dropped at the words.

_Of course I’d miss you._

The atmosphere suddenly felt very serious, and Green found himself conflicted about Sinnoh all over again. He already knew he’d be breaking off the promise of staying in contact if he left, but he hadn’t realised just how much it mattered to Red. Even if they’d been friends for years, Green just assumed Red didn’t care too strongly about the people around him and only had training on the brain.

“Sorry, I didn’t realise you were this bothered by what I did” Green muttered, Red giving him a disbelieving look at the response. “What, can you blame me? You went up that damn mountain when we were ten without even telling me first! It was even right after we made that promise, too. That kind of indicates you don’t care.”

Red’s brow furrowed and he hastily wrote in his notepad.

_I came back down!_

“But what if you didn’t?” Green argued, and Red underlined his point so roughly he almost poked a hole through the paper.

Green’s jaw clenched.

“But what if you _didn’t_?!” he repeated, almost yelling it this time.

Red was about to write something else until the pencil was torn from his hands, looking towards a now hysterical looking Green.

“Do you know how fucking worried I was when your mother told me you’d gone up Mt. Silver?” Green fumed, unable to stop the words spilling from of his mouth like vomit. “You know, Mt. Silver? The place known for its unlivable blizzards and herds of intensely strong Pokémon, huh? Then being told you were going to be up there for Arceus knows how long? And you did it without telling me! I know I joke about it but the longer you spend on that stupid mountain the more convinced I am that you’re dead! One day you’re going to go up there and you’re not going to come back and-“

He was cut off by his face being forcefully grabbed, being made to look into Red’s eyes that were filled with intensity. It looked like he wanted to say something, _do_ something, but instead his hands began to shake the longer he stared Green dead in the eye.

Green could see some sort of conflict he was struggling with, having no idea what it was and being baffled by it. Red had never been the type of guy to have inner conflict with himself, always being straightforward and self-assured in everything he did. That’s how Green saw him, anyway, so seeing him shaking – let alone _feeling_ it – was surreal.

Red slowly gave up on whatever it was he was deciding, frowning angrily at himself and letting Green go to hold his head in his hands. Green wasn’t too sure what to say, if he should say anything at all, and found himself sitting quietly.

Pikachu and Eevee were sitting on the floor together, both of them having been frozen since the argument between their trainers began, and stared at the quiet champion. A small peep from Pikachu, however, had Red sucking in a long breath. He released his head from his hands and sat up, keeping his eyes closed for a little bit longer before opening them to glance at Green; his gaze softer now, almost sad. With another deep breath he grabbed his notepad, gently grabbed his pencil back from Green’s hand, and wrote something down.

When finished, he held it up for it to read;

_I had my reasons for going up Mt. Silver, but I can’t tell you why._   
_Please, let me just leave it at that for now._   
_I didn’t mean to hurt you._

Green was flooded with guilt, feeling like an asshole for having lashed out at the other. Of course, Red had his problems, but with how reserved the teen was Green never saw them. He’d just come to assume Red was leading a simple, planned out life, which was definitely ignorant of him to think. Ignorant, and also unfair.

“I’m sorry” Green apologised, “I’ve just been so, how to put it…everywhere, lately, I guess?”

Red’s gaze was unwavering, silently telling him to continue, and Green let out an exhausted sigh.

“I don’t know what to do, I’ve always wanted things to change but when I’m given the opportunity for it, I choke. It’s like, Sinnoh is definitely a change, but it’s such an extreme change I don’t know if I’m prepared for something like that.”

The champion moved to write again, but kept his pencil held above the paper as he seemed to think about it, then glanced to the side unsurely before dropping the utensil.

“What?” Green questioned, only to have Red wave him off.

The air between them had become awkward, almost heavy, but an idea concocted in Green’s head through the silence. The only thing was, it was something he felt embarrassed to ask, but looking at Red spacing out next to him he knew it was worth a shot.

So, with a hard swallow, Green forced himself to speak.

“Hey” he started, the other glancing towards him, “I know training’s important to you, but technically speaking, you _could_ do it anywhere.”

This caught Red’s attention, the champion blinking in interest.

“So, I was wondering, since you’re clearly unhappy with the thought of me leaving. Well, maybe you could…come to Sinnoh…” Green paused for a bit longer “…with me?”

The champion stared with wide, unblinking eyes. There was no movement from him, looking as if his world had just been blown. Green, on the other hand, could feel his face heating up, frowning and huffing hotly from the awkwardness.

“Oi, can you stop staring?”

Red flushed, whipping his head to the ground at the request. The other teen could only let out a loud sigh, Red’s embarrassment making Green’s own face turn pink.

“I know it’s unlike me to ask that” he started to explain, Red not looking but listening intently, “it’s just that I know no one in Sinnoh. You don’t really need to stay in Kanto, unless you want to, so I’d feel…secure, if you came with me.”

Green felt sheepish at his own words, but they seemed to take Red’s interest as the teen turned to stare once more. His expression was soft, even warm, and he glanced to the side for a moment before hesitantly moving his hands to place them over Green’s own.

The trainer looked down at the hands atop his, then up at the champion in front of him, a light blush across his cheeks.

“Does that mean…yes?”

Red nodded shyly, his blush getting deeper when Green smiled widely in delight.

“I’ll probably never say this again, but I really do appreciate you, Red.”

The champion kept his hands on Green’s, squeezing them softly, and glanced up at the other nervously. Green stared back, still smiling sweetly, almost angelically, but Red felt his stomach drop at what the teen said next.

“I’ve never been good at making friends, after all. You’ve been a great friend to me for all these years.”

Green couldn’t understand why Red suddenly looked crushed, the champion shakily releasing his hands and turning away as if he were about to faint; it was almost like he’d been kicked in the gut. Pikachu only confused Green further when the yellow mouse started to giggle in front of him.

“What, Red? Did I say something wrong?”

Red shook his head, lightly glaring at his now laughing Pikachu.

Green wasn’t sure what to make of any of it, but after a few seconds Red assured him he was fine, and promised he’d definitely go to Sinnoh with him. He explained it was in his own interests, too, since he wanted to know more about Sinnoh’s legendary Pokémon.

With Red on board, Green finally decided to travel to Sinnoh, and he called Professor Rowan the next morning to tell him the good news.

…

The journey to Sinnoh was unnerving, Green finding his feet glued to the airport floor as he scanned through the boarding times. Red, on the other hand, seemed unbothered by it all, looking through a book about Sinnoh’s Pokémon while sitting in the airport terminal.

The two teens caused a light stir at the airport, most knowing them but unsure if they could approach since both never lingered in the celebrity spotlight. There were one or two kids that ran up to them for an autograph, though, which Red nervously agreed to. He was bad with both fame and kids, it seemed.

Red’s mother, Daisy and Professor Oak had come to see them off, Green surprised his grandfather had decided to come but still partially grateful for it. It was probably just for Red, anyway.

The two of them were smothered in hugs by the two women, Green promising he’d send Daisy a message at least every week and Red flushing deeply from his mother’s endless kisses; Pikachu and Eevee received the same treatment. Green’s grandfather, on the other hand, shook Red’s hand and smiled in farewell, then stopped in front of his grandson for the two to stand awkwardly.

Green was ready to frown a goodbye, but was caught off guard when the man spoke.

“Do call when you settle in, it’ll be quiet without you and Eevee around.”

The teen blinked, “Uh, sure.”

“I need to know all about the research, it’d be better to hear it from Professor Rowan but he’s a busy man” the professor added, making Green scowl.

“You really ruin every moment” he muttered, waving his grandfather off and saying a goodbye when the man gave him a confused look.

Green swore he could hear Daisy sigh in frustration at the exchange.

Lucky for the two trainers, one small Pokémon per person was allowed on the plane, and Green was grateful to be able to hold Eevee during takeoff. Red didn’t say it, but Green knew he was happy too; he couldn’t imagine the champion without his Pikachu with him.

When arriving at Jubilife city’s airport after a tediously long flight, the two trainers were greeted by a girl with dark blue hair and a white beanie. She bowed deeply to them while holding a hand to her chest, and arose with an elegant smile.

“It’s an honour to meet the two legendary champions” she began, Green interrupting her with a sheepish smile.

“Well, I’m not a champion anymore.”

The girl smiled back at the comment, “My name’s Platinum, I was sent by the professor to collect you.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance” Green grinned, “I’m sure you know who we are but for formalities sake, I’m Green and this is Eevee. This guy here is Red, doesn’t speak much so don’t be put off by it, and that’s his Pikachu.”

Red waved lightly in greeting, Platinum nodding towards him kindly.

“If you’ve received all your luggage I suggest we make our way to the lab. The professor lives in Sandgem Town, which is just outside Jubilife city, so it’s a small trip to get there.”

The two agreed and followed her to the carport, loading their luggage and jumping in the car to be chauffeured out. It was sunset as they drove through Jubilife, so signs were beginning to flicker on while people dressed in fancy outfits with their Pokémon walked the streets. While looking out the window, it was one sign in particular that caught Green’s attention.

“Oh, that’s right, you hold Pokémon contests here!” he exclaimed, Red blinking curiously at the teen. Green turned to him with a frown, “You don’t know what those are, do you?”

Red shook his head, expression completely blank, and Platinum giggled across from them.

“They’re shows put on by trainers and their Pokémon” she explained, “the first part of contests includes using various move sets in a creative way to show off the personality of your Pokémon, the second part is battles between trainers, but moves must be used to show off your Pokémon while also dealing damage. Trainers who partake in contests are called coordinators.”

The champion’s face was still blank, and Green could only roll his eyes at the other.

“If it’s not about battling, he’s completely lost” Green teased, Red glaring at him lightly to make him smirk cheekily.

Platinum smiled in understanding “Well, only us and Hoenn hold contests, so it’s not unusual for trainers from other regions to not know. There’s actually a contest on tonight, hence all the costumes.”

“I’ve heard they’re quite a spectacle” Green mused, “I think it’s worth seeing one while we’re here, hey, Red?”

Said teen blinked at the option, only shrugging in response. It didn’t really matter what he answered, he knew Green would pull him along anyways. It wasn’t like he minded, though.

“May I ask; do you know much about Sinnoh?” Platinum inquired, Red immediately shook his head while Green hummed in thought.

“I did some studying before coming, so I know bits and pieces. It’s believed that Arceus resides here, isn’t it?”

Red’s eyes shone in interest at that, and Platinum nodded.

“That’s right, also Palkia, Dialga and Giratina; the Pokémon of space, time and antimatter. We believe these Pokémon created the known universe, this is why Sinnoh is thought to be the oldest region to exist.”

Green let out a sound of awe “That’s quite a feat to have for a region, no wonder you Sinnoh people are so proud.”

There was a sudden tap on Green’s shoulder, turning to see Red had written something in his notepad.

_There’s three more._

“Huh?” Green furrowed his brow, Platinum looking at the two with interest, “Uh, he’s saying there’s three more, but I can’t recall any others…”

Platinum looked confused for a short moment, but her face lit up as she remembered “Ah, he must mean the Pokémon of the three lakes.”

Green kept his quizzical expression, but Red flipped his book open to show the other what she meant.

Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf, the beings of emotion, knowledge and willpower. Green slightly recalled having heard of them, but it completely slipped his mind.

“A being of knowledge?” Green thought aloud, “Maybe I should try finding Uxie, it might have some knowledge that could help me out.”

Green said it more as a joke, but Red looked somewhat upset at the comment. The other teen didn’t notice, however, and continued talking to Platinum about what the Sinnoh region had to offer.

After a slightly long car ride, they finally arrived in front of Professor Rowan’s lab in Sandgem town. The two trainers left their luggage in the car, having to meet the professor first before seeing their apartment, but were both confused when hearing a ruckus on the other side of the door.

Upon Platinum opening it, two boys practically fell out, one on top of the other and wrestling for something. Platinum cleared her throat, causing both boys to look up, one being more shocked than the other.

“Pearl, Diamond, this is Red and Green” Platinum explained calmly, but her eyes were sharp.

One of the boy’s – his hair a shining blond – hurriedly stood up to brush himself off and bow deeply. “I-I’m so sorry!” he sincerely apologised, “This idiot here just stole my dinner, is the thing-“

“Pearl” Platinum cut him off, the other boy now standing to his feet and eating happily.

The blonde boy gasped aloud, “Right, sorry! I’m Pearl, it’s truly an honour to meet you!” he continued to bow, Green already exhausted feeling just how much energy the boy had radiating off him.

The other boy – who wore a red hat – looked between the two Kanto trainers while munching away.

“So, who are they?” he questioned, receiving a whack from Pearl.

“You idiot! They’re the legendary Kanto champions, I told you this!”

“Ah, I forgot.”

The two started beating each other up in front of them, although Pearl seemed to be the one doing the hitting while the other boy kept a ditzy smile on his face. Green noted that, from first impressions alone, the kid didn’t seem particularly smart.

“Boys!” Platinum spoke sternly, making the two stop their arguing to separate, “Please be…civil, just for today.”

Pearl looked down guiltily at that, but the boy in the red hat gave the two Kanto trainers a slow bow with a smile plastered on his face.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Diamond, but my friends call me Dia. Sorry I forgot who you were.”

Pearl looked like he wanted to say something, but Platinum’s firm glare kept him in line.

Green forced a smile in greeting, not too sure what to make of the kids, while Red only stared.

The champion suddenly stepped towards Diamond, keeping his eyes on him, and without any indication, raised a hand to place it on the boy’s head in a patting motion. Diamond kept his dopey smile, Red kindly smiling back as Pikachu squeaked happily.

“Oh Arceus,” Green put a hand to his forehead, “he’s not a Growlithe, Red.”

Platinum and Pearl looked on in intrigue, then towards Green, who shook his head in embarrassment.

With greetings over and done with, they made their way into the lab, where Professor Rowan was waiting for them. He smiled warmly when the two trainers bowed, assuring them it wasn’t necessary.

“Red, I presume?” he inquired, the champion nodding “It’s great to meet you, Professor Oak truly raves about you.”

The comment made the teen flinch slightly, shifting his eyes to Green who looked slightly agitated. Noticing Red’s reluctance, Green shrugged lightly to let him know it was fine.

“And I see you’ve met these three,” the professor gestured towards Pearl, Diamond and Platinum, “they’re trainers who’ve been helping me with my research.”

“I plan to be the best there is in Sinnoh” Pearl announced proudly, Platinum rolling her eyes at the statement.

“Is that so?” Green smiled, “Plan to verse either of us in a battle, then?”

Pearl made a face of regret, Green couldn’t hide his amusement. It just seemed too easy to tease the kid, he couldn’t help himself.

“I mean, I would” Pearl mumbled nervously “but I can’t even beat my dad yet, so…”

Green lifted an eyebrow “Your dad?”

“Pearl’s father is the leader of Sinnoh’s battle tower” Professor Rowan cleared up, truly shocking Green to the core.

To be fair, he didn’t know much of Sinnoh’s battle tower, but every region’s battle tower had a prestigious trainer on top of it. He couldn’t even imagine the man if that was his son.

After a bit more light conversation, the professor went over Green’s study schedule, while Red talked to the three young trainers who fawned over Eevee and Pikachu. Before leaving, however, Red asked where some of the best training places were in Sinnoh, with the top of Mt. Coronet taking his fancy.

Red and mountains were something that couldn’t be separated, Green supposed.

When finally making it to their apartment, Green quickly claimed a room. The professor offered for them to have separate places, but Red assured he was happy rooming with Green.

Green flopped onto his bed, and Eevee flopped next to him, letting out a loud yawn.

“It’s been a big day, hasn’t it?” he smiled tiredly at her, patting her head fondly.

Pikachu suddenly ran in, jumping on the bed to lie next to the other small Pokémon. Green paid no mind to it, but instead noticed Red standing at his door.

“What’s up?” he asked, Red looking around for a bit before holding his notepad up.

_Are you okay?_

Green furrowed his brow, and Red frowned in thought before gesturing vaguely around the room.

“With being here, do you mean?”

Red nodded, and Green shrugged.

“Not sure yet, to be honest. It’s still so early, I might feel different later.”

The champion looked discontent with the answer, making the other teen groan in annoyance.

“I’m fine, Red, I swear. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Said teen started writing something else down with a frown, but was stopped in his tracks when Green spoke again.

“You’re here, after all…”

It seemed completely out of nowhere, Red having to hide his blush. Green stared up at him with a small pout for a moment, then clicked his tongue.

“Ah, whatever, you’ve been making me say weird things lately. Get out of here and set up your own room.”

Red was ready to do just that, until Green’s stomach growled loudly. The two looked at each other, blankly, and Green glanced to the side sheepishly.

“Uh, maybe we should get dinner first…”

…

Sinnoh was a nice region, with Sandgem Town being a cozy place to live. The only problem was some days were unbearably cold, but Red seemed far too at home in it. He _had_ been living his life consistently going up and down a mountain full of blizzards.

Green had previously been nervous with the move, but found himself far too preoccupied with his studies and research to even think about being homesick. Professor Rowan had him constantly running around, asking for paper after paper on certain studies, with the three young trainers occasionally helping him with field research. He didn’t mind, though, he even welcomed it.

Red usually wasn’t in the apartment, being back for only a week or less at a time, and mostly camped out on Mt. Coronet. Green expected it, but he still couldn’t believe the guy had just jumped from one mountain to another. Those quiet nights in the apartment, however, were when Green had time to think. It was never good for him to be alone with himself, his thoughts constantly becoming more and more negative about where he was and what he was doing, and found himself staying up all night getting work done.

Green found the only times he really slept were when Red was in the apartment with him, entering the apartment to see the champion and greeting him lazily while making a b-line for his room. When he’d hit the bed, he’d immediately fall asleep, but only when Red was there.

Why this happened, he didn’t really know. Probably just felt comfortable to have someone else home with him.

Red coming and going had become so regular to Green that he was no longer shocked whenever he opened the door to see the champion either standing in the kitchen or sitting on the couch, and he finally understood how the guy’s mother felt. Living with him while he did it was certainly different, especially now that Green knew all of his little habits to signify if Red had been in the apartment or not. The worst one was leaving the milk out, something Green constantly scolded him for.

It was six months into studying in Sinnoh that Professor Rowan asked a favour of Green, requesting if he could go to Sunyshore City to collect an item and Pokémon from the gym leader of the area. Apparently he was receiving the Pokémon Electabuzz, while also receiving an electirizer. Professor Rowan wanted to research the connections between held items, trading and evolution, having left the studies of human connections and Pokémon evolution to Green.

Green wanted Red to come with him, but the champion had been away for a week and Green was told to leave immediately, so he supposed he’d be taking the trip himself. It wasn’t like he was worried about the travel, he’d been across a region before, but he and Red barely had time to do anything together. They hadn’t even seen a contest yet, something Green was silently desperate to do.

The trainer decided to take a plane – Sunyshore City being across the region from Sandgem Town – and found himself in awe of the place upon landing.

It was highly technical, solar panels were on every building and moving sidewalks covered the city. There were pathways built to the sky so the citizens could walk without worry, and a few small bins moving around on their own to collect rubbish when called. The city looked like it was from future, Green and Eevee finding themselves sidetracked by all the little things that made it unique.

Green discovered the gym leader, Volkner, was the one who added all the technological improvements to Sunyshore. He must’ve been quite the guy to achieve something so great.

It took a while of walking, and a few questions to the locals, but the Kanto trainer finally found the Sunyshore City Gym. The building shone brilliantly, Green could tell all too well it’s where every advancement for the city had started. He found himself already feeling a touch of respect for the gym leader, even though he had yet to meet the guy.

The gym was just as impressive inside as it was on the outside, the place obviously being specifically made for electric types to train. It was so complex, though, Green felt lost just by looking at it. Thankfully, he was saved when noticing someone sitting by one of the large windows on the side of the gym, the appearance of the man fitting that of the one Professor Rowan had shown him in a photo.

“Hey” Green greeted, walking towards the man to catch his attention, “you’re Volkner, right?”

The man looked Green up and down for a moment, then ran a hand through his dirty blond hair as he stood up.

“You’re Green Oak, Kanto champion, I assume?” he questioned, making Green frown slightly.

“I’m not the champion anymore, but sure, that’s me.”

Volkner was stoic, his expression completely blank, and only stared down at the trainer. He hadn’t shown a hint of a smile when Green appeared, clearly not bothering to be welcoming, but not in a malicious sense. It was more like he was bored.

Quiet, expressionless, and a powerful aura. Green couldn’t shake the feeling the guy reminded him of someone, but he couldn’t put his finger on who.

“Anyway, I’m here on behalf of Professor Rowan, he-“

“But you were the champion.”

Green tried to speak, only to be jarringly cut off by the gym leader. He looked at the man with a raised eyebrow, face still showing no signs of emotion.

“Huh?”

“You were the champion” Volkner repeated, “don’t downplay it just because you’re not anymore.”

“Right…”

Green wasn’t too sure how to respond, Volkner looking so serious he couldn’t find it in him to snap back with a joke or sarcastic comment.

The man suddenly moved, gesturing for the Kanto trainer to follow him as he walked out the gym. Green followed him with a confused huff, about to ask where he was taking him but having no need to as Volkner picked up on it.

“I left Electabuzz at the Pokémon center, wanted to make sure it was healthy before giving it to the professor.”

The gym leader stepped onto one of the moving sidewalks, both Green and Eevee hesitantly following, not having used one since entering the city. Green didn’t think of himself as a people person, always finding it difficult to make friends, but he knew how to start and hold conversations when necessary. Volkner, however, he found hard to say anything to. It wasn’t like the guy had a wall up, he just had that _‘Do Not Disturb’_ kind of feeling.

Green slightly jumped when the man turned towards him, having to turn away when catching himself staring. Volkner stared at him for a moment before looking away to speak.

“You’re quite easy to read, you know.”

Green blinked “I’m sorry?”

“It’s not a bad thing” Volkner explained, “you’ve got a big personality, anyone could see that.”

Volkner turned back towards Green, now standing backwards on the moving sidewalk as he stared down at the Kanto trainer. It was like he was being examined, Green’s feeling right on the money with what the gym leader said next.

“You’re motivated, but you look distracted.”

“What?” Green questioned, still being stared into by the blond.

“It means you’re motivated for the wrong reasons.”

Green’s brow furrowed, Eevee looking up at her trainer curiously upon feeling his irritation.

“Sorry, I didn’t ask for a personality reading” he grumbled, Volkner showing no reaction to the comment.

“I’m saying it because I used to be like you.”

Green blinked at that, the two staring at each other in silence for a long while as the sidewalk moved them along. Eventually, though, the Kanto trainer scoffed and looked to the side.

“Please, you don’t know a thing about me. You’ve just read tabloids and interviews, knowing my favourite colour from a cheap magazine doesn’t mean you can read me.”

Volkner shrugged “I know you’re troubled.”

“Everyone’s troubled” Green deadpanned.

“Some more than others.”

The gym leader’s tone was completely monotone, his blank face slowly starting to piss Green off. It’s like he was playing some psychological game, a clearly put together guy trying to tell him he understood him. It was somewhat infuriating.

Green was ready to comment, say something snarky, but found himself stopping in his tracks when Volkner spoke again.

“You know I added all these advancements to the city, don’t you?” Green nodded reluctantly, “So you haven’t thought to ask why?”

“Why?” Green decided to humour him, not expecting the answer he received.

“I was lost.”

The Kanto trainer’s face softened, unsure of what to make of the man in front of him. He still had no expression, but his voice slightly slipped and sounded just a tad sad. Green didn’t need to ask for him to continue, Volkner doing so willingly.

“I’ve been the gym leader of this place for years, it was exciting at the beginning. The more I did it, though, the more I wondered why I was doing it. It was endless battle after battle, and I was never beat by a single challenger. So, feeling my time was being wasted, I started improving the city.”

Green’s eyes widened slightly, surprised to find he had more in common with the leader than he’d initially thought. It was for those reasons exactly, in fact, that he turned down the gym leader offer from Lance.

“I just kept adding improvements” Volkner continued, “I even considered taking on the Sinnoh League myself. But I thought, even if I beat the league-“

“Then what” Green finished for him, looking to the side with melancholy.

For the first time, Volkner showed a small smile, nodding at the Kanto trainer. “Exactly, and you’ve been to the top, you became champion, the second I saw you I knew you were feeling the same.”

It all sounded too familiar, it’d been almost nine years since his Kanto journey and he was still feeling exactly the same way. It was absolutely depressing, and the next question from Volkner only worsened it.

“Why are you studying in Sinnoh, Green?”

Green wanted to give him a smart response, to show he had a purpose for his actions, but found himself biting his lip when realising he couldn’t give him that kind of answer.

“I don’t know” he admitted, “I like studying evolution, but, I don’t know…and I don’t know what next.”

There was a long silence between them, Eevee looking up sadly at her trainer whose expression was completely downcast. Volkner stared sternly at him, letting them sit in the silence for a moment, but grabbed Green’s attention back as he spoke again.

“It’s alright not knowing why you’re doing something, you know.”

Green glanced back at him but quickly glanced away again, suddenly feeling too exposed under the man’s stare after he’d been pinned down by the guy almost perfectly. He felt embarrassed asking questions, but since Volkner had gone through a similar crises Green was currently going through, he was the only person he could ask questions to.

“Um,” Green started unsurely, trying to put his words together “how did you stop that way of thinking? How did you become content with where you were?”

Volkner thought about it for a minute, looking up while he did. It took another short silence, but eventually the man responded.

“I think I’d forgotten why I started what I was doing in the first place; I lost my spark, so to speak. It did take a beating from a particularly strong trainer to put everything back in perspective, however, but it also took a – let’s just say _good friend_ – to help me out of my slump.”

Green frowned, the answer not particularly being what he was looking for. Volkner became a gym leader before his crises, enjoyed it beforehand, Green didn’t have that yet. There was nothing he had set his heart on, nothing he’d chosen to do. It wasn’t a case of rediscovering his spark, it was discovering it that was the problem. Not many had been in his position, though, of becoming the champion and achieving the thing he’d set his life around at a very early stage. It even sounded snobbish to want someone to relate to it, but the only other person was Red, and he knew what he was doing.

It just felt unfair.

“Hey” Green spoke, Volkner still looking at him “can we trade numbers before I go? I wouldn’t mind, uh, talking to you some more.”

Volkner gave the Kanto trainer a small smile and nodded in agreement.

They talked more on the way to the Pokémon center, the conversation more light hearted and less personal. Volkner told Green how he set up the solar panels for the city, how he invented new technology to help the city become the most advanced in the Sinnoh region, and Green couldn’t deny he was completely in awe. The gym leader was definitely impressive, incredibly intelligent, but the Kanto trainer refused to admit there was a possibility he was smarter than himself.

Upon collecting Electabuzz and the electirizer, Green found he was slightly disappointed to have to part with Volkner. He was fun to talk to, even if he only spoke in short sentences, but he knew they’d still keep in touch over phone. Before leaving, though, the Kanto trainer asked one more question.

“Who was the trainer that beat you, anyway? They must have an incredible team.”

Volkner nodded “She did, I’ll never forget it. Her name was Platinum.”

Green absolutely couldn’t believe it.

When making it back to Sandgem Town he ended up confronting the trainer about it, who only smiled in response. She was the only one out of the three who had all eight Sinnoh badges, Pearl apparently struggling to get the Hearthome City badge while Diamond needed to collect two more. Upon asking Platinum for why she hadn’t taken on the champion of the region, she claimed that she had, but the champion of Sinnoh was far too strong for her to beat at that moment.

After the conversation, Green wondered why he hadn’t met Sinnoh’s champion yet.

Red was back in the apartment when he got home, the Kanto champion in the kitchen with Pikachu on the couch as he attempted to cook something. Eevee joined the electric type to snuggle up with it, while Green felt his eyebrow twitch when noticing the milk left out on the kitchen counter.

“Nice to see you’re back” Green sighed, walking past the other to put the milk away “it’d be nice if you could give me times for when you come and go, you know. Then I could actually plan things with you.”

Green sniffed the air, noticing a burning smell, and turned to see Red focusing on him instead of whatever unrecognisable mix of food the guy was cooking. With a huff he bumped the champion away from the pan with his hip to pick it up.

“Let me cook, you always ruin our pans.”

Red looked sheepish for a moment, but grabbed his pencil and notepad from the kitchen counter to write something down and show Green as the teen was scraping burnt food from the cooking pan.

_Where were you today?_

“Sunyshore City” Green answered, “ran an errand for the professor. I _was_ going to invite you to come with me, but you weren’t back so I needed to go myself.”

Red looked apologetic, something Green waved off as he took different foods out of the fridge.

“Don’t worry about it, I met the gym leader while I was there. Did you know the kids helping Professor Rowan have most of their badges? Platinum even has all eight.”

The champion nodded, making Green blink before clicking his tongue in understanding.

“That’s right, you talk to Diamond a lot, don’t you? Don’t know what you see in that kid, to be honest.”

Red quickly wrote something down to hold it up in defense.

_He has a kind heart._

“Ah, you’re so soft, aren’t you champion?” Green smiled as he teasingly pulled Red’s cap down, the teen blushing slightly at the action. “The gym leader is incredible, by the way, you should see everything he’s done for the city. Had a lot of good advice for me, too.”

Before Green knew it, he’d gone off on a tangent about Volkner. He talked about everything he remembered about the guy, and everything the gym leader told him, the whole time from cooking their meal to sitting down and eating it. The teen didn’t notice how Red’s eye had started to progressively twitch the more he talked.

“You should see his team, too! I honestly think his Raichu could give Pikachu a run for its money. Oh, and he also-“

Green stopped himself when looking across the table to see the champion glaring harshly, looking the unhappiest he’d ever been. The other smiled cheekily as he tapped his chopsticks against his bowl.

“Aw, what’s wrong? Is it because I talked bad about your precious Pikachu?”

Green honestly meant it as a joke, but felt his smile fade when Red continued to glare. If he struck a nerve, he couldn’t tell.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it, I know better than anyone Pikachu is ridiculously strong.”

The only reaction he got from Red was an angry glance to the side, his whole aura screaming he was pissed off. Green truly didn’t understand the problem.

“You know I love Pikachu, Volkner’s team is just electric types anyway. I’m sure he’d be no problem for you.”

Red’s frown deepened, Green’s words only having made things worse. The teen couldn’t comprehend the problem. The situation was incredibly strange, Red usually never reacting so strongly to anything the other said. The last time he had was when he found out Green was moving to Sinnoh, but that was somewhat understandable.

“Oi, Red-“

Green was cut off as his cellphone rang, both blinking in surprise as it sharply cut through the tension. When pulling out the device, Green’s face lit up to see whose name graced the screen.

“Speaking of Volkner” he smiled at the other, not noticing the way Red’s jaw clenched as he picked up the phone.

Red watched intently while Green spoke to the gym leader, noticing his eyes were bright, how his tone was bubbly, the way he smiled cheerily, and felt his fist clench tighter at every single perfect laugh the teen let out.

It was all because of Volkner, ‘ _Mr. Perfect’_ , and Red felt sick to his stomach.

The champion stood up quickly, then strode towards Green to grab his wrist and look down at him with penetrating eyes. Green jumped at the action, looking up at the other with a raised eyebrow and being completely oblivious to his desperation.

“Get your notepad if you need something” Green whispered before putting the phone back to his ear, smile immediately curling back up his lips.

Red started to uncontrollably shake, Green blinking and looking down at the hand grabbing his wrist, then back up at the teen in front of him. His head was tilted down, the cap hiding his eyes, but when he looked back up there was such an intense flash of emotion in his eyes it almost scared Green.

With that one quick look, Red teared his hand from the other and stormed off, the steps so loud it caused Pikachu and Eevee to jolt awake. Green was too shocked to move at first, but blinked himself out of it when hearing Volkner on the other end of the phone.

“I-I’m so sorry, something big just came up, I’ll talk to you later.”

Green immediately put his phone down to chase after the champion, calling his name in hopes of making the other stop but following him straight into his room to watch him rip the cap off his head and throw it on the bed.

“Oi, Red, what’s up with you?” Green questioned, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible.

Pikachu and Eevee had followed them, both sitting at the hallway with upset expressions while watching the scene play out in front of them.

Red whipped his head around – face slightly flushed from the heat of anger – and walked up to the other to grab his shoulders, spin him around, and attempt to push him out of the room. Green immediately grabbed either side of the door frame without thinking, doing his best to counter Red’s strength.

“Hey, stop! Stop! Red?! What in the world is wrong?”

Red stopped his pushing, Green being able to turn back around to see a mixed expression of pain and anger on the teen’s face. Green wasn’t sure what to say, never having dealt with such an emotionally distraught Red before, and almost jumped when the other turned to stomp towards his bedside table to rummage around in the draws.

He pulled out a crinkled piece of paper and a pen, Green slowly walking over only to stumble back when the paper was shoved in his face.

_You seriously don’t know?_

“Know what?” Green frowned, Red huffing hotly before turning back around to hurriedly write something else.

_Are you messing with me? Do you think it’s funny?!_

Green blinked, completely perplexed, and furrowed his brow at the champion.

“I- huh?”

He was truly speechless, having no idea what to say, and only felt irritated when Red glared at him with an upset frown.

“Red, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!” Green raised his voice, now upset himself for being unfairly attacked.

Usually the loud tone would affect Red, but this time he stood unflinching, paper creasing in his clenched fist. Without thinking he scribbled something down, the pen stabbing through the paper once or twice, and held up the paper to the other with one word written on it.

_Volkner._

“What?” Green narrowed his eyes at the name, then looked back up at the champion “What about him? You don’t like him?”

Red looked frustrated, but Green couldn’t tell what at. His face was flushed, his breathing was heavy, and Green thought if there’d be any time Red would want the ability to yell it’d definitely be now.

The champion stood still, not looking to move or write anything else down, but his eyes were still ice cold. Green could feel himself slowly losing his composure.

“You haven’t even met the fucking guy, Red! For Arceus’ sake can you just tell me what the fuck is wrong?”

For a moment a small flash of what looked like realisation appeared on Red’s face, but almost immediately disappeared when Red looked to the ground, Green thinking the expression was almost sad. Red’s fist continued to shake, biting his lip so roughly Green swore it’d start bleeding, and eventually he looked back up with harsh eyes to point out the door.

“You want me to get out?” Green examined, receiving a stiff nod from the champion, “What? Are you kidding me? Red how the fuck am I supposed to know what I did wrong if you don’t tell me?!”

Red shook his head vigorously, turning Green around by his shoulders once again to hastily shove him out the door, loudly slamming it shut when he stumbled into the hallway, almost hitting Pikachu and Eevee under him.

Green had no idea what just happened, but didn’t take time to asses it as nothing but anger flowed through his now popped veins.

“Fine, be like that! Fucking idiot!” he yelled at the door, knowing Red could hear him as he stomped away. Eevee and Pikachu looked between Green and the door, then turned to each other with sad, concerned eyes before Eevee slowly stood to follow her trainer.

Green didn’t see Red fall back against his closed door, bunching the center of his shirt in one hand as he slid down to bring his knees to his chest and hold his head in his hands. Green didn’t see the way Red tore his hair out as he tried desperately not to sob with shaking breaths, while Pikachu sadly squeaked to him on the other side of the door.

That night, neither of them could sleep.

…

The argument ended up being worse than Green imagined. Usually, Red didn’t hold grudges or show any strong emotion, but it’d gotten so bad he wouldn’t even let Pikachu into his room. Every morning Green would get ready to go to the lab, walking past Red’s door that stayed locked. He knew the champion was home because Pikachu would always be sitting out front, either sleeping or looking at the door sadly. Green wanted to knock on his door, to tell him the poor Pokémon was suffering because of him, but found himself stupidly mad to even want to try talking to the guy.

This stayed consistent for a week until Green heard a clutter of noise at five in the morning – being awake from having pulled multiple all nighters throughout the week – so loud that it woke Eevee up next to him. He walked out of his room with her to examine the source of the sound, finding Red standing at the open front door with Pikachu tugging at the hem of his pants, squeaking and trying to pull his trainer’s leg back inside.

Red was frowning down at the Pokémon, looking unsure of what to do, but whipped his head up when a light was turned on to see Green standing by the light switch and staring at him. The air between them was disgustingly heavy, both teens having dark bags under their eyes; the mark of sleep deprivation.

They’d known each other for years, both of them nineteen now, but the awkward air made both feel as if they were ten years old again. Not knowing what to say, uncertain of how to approach the situation; it was childish. Even worse, though, it was depressing, considering Green thought they’d gotten past that at some point.

Things truly never change.

Green wanted to say something, letting in a sharp breath while trying to figure out what _to_ say, but was met with a conflicted, upset look as Red quickly picked Pikachu up to close the door behind him. Green could hear the Pokémon’s squeaks of protest fade behind the door, grinding his teeth together as he felt his eyes sting.

“Leave then” he muttered to himself, Eevee looking up at him dejectedly and staying still on the floor when her trainer switched off the light to walk back to his room.

She sat in the dark, staring at the closed door, hoping with all her might that it would open again.

...

The time Red stayed away usually didn’t last too long, the longest he’d been away while in Sinnoh being three weeks, but for the first time the weeks turned into months.

It was reaching almost four months now, Red hadn’t been home once, and Green barely got an hours sleep each night because of it. He expected he’d be used to being alone at that point, but the apartment was so deathly quiet it was suffocating. Green didn’t want to admit he was getting anxious, and didn’t realise his health was slowly deteriorating.

The trainer would show up to the lab dead on his feet, his state having become so obviously bad even Pearl’s energy levels dropped. Not once did he complain, though, not once did he want to stop working, even panicking when Professor Rowan suggested he take time off. He didn’t want to go back to that quiet apartment, he didn’t want to be alone for another long night.

It was during field research with the three young trainers, however, that he couldn’t hold out any longer.

Green needed to catch more wild Pokémon, wanting to analyse their evolution levels and any connection to human relationships before bonding, and sent the three trainers off on their own while he went to Lake Verity by himself. He’d been to the lake many times, thinking the fresh air and water would clear his head, but found it was to no avail. His eyes were so heavy they hurt, his body felt disconnected from his head, and every movement felt sluggish.

Eevee watched with concern as her trainer put a hand to his head, stumbling towards the water with the plan to splash some on his face, but found himself distracted when a sudden flash from the center of the lake caught his eye. The flash was pink in colour, looking like something was silhouetted in it, but no matter how much Green squinted, his vision wouldn’t focus. Then, he swore he heard a chiming sound, unlike anything he’d heard before, and gave in to his heavy eyelids as he fell over from exhaustion.

Upon opening his eyes again, he was met with a blonde haired kid staring down at him anxiously; Eevee sitting on his shoulder and also staring. It took a while for his vision to adjust, but realised it was Pearl above him.

“You’re awake!” Pearl unceremoniously yelled, making Green grit his teeth. “We were so worried! The doctor said you could’ve been out for-“

“Alright, alright!” Green shot a hand up to cover the kid’s mouth, his head throbbing and unable to process the noise.

Pearl got the idea, blushing sheepishly as Eevee jumped off his shoulder to cuddle up to her trainer.

The Kanto trainer looked at his surroundings, noticing he was in a hospital and mumbling an apology to his Pokémon at the realisation.

“What happened to me, exactly?” he asked, Pearl about to energetically yell back but quickly stopping himself to speak more calmly.

“Uh, well, you were found passed out at Lake Verity. You were taken to Sandgem Town’s hospital, you were asleep for almost a whole week. I’ve been watching over you and looking after Eevee the whole time, although Platinum told me to.”

Green put a hand to his forehead and frowned, “Did you kids find me?”

“Oh, no, not us” Pearl shook his head, “it was the champion.”

“C-Champion?!” Green almost leapt out of the hospital bed, only staying put because of Pearl being in his way.

Pearl blinked in bafflement “Uh, y-yeah? The champion, Cynthia, found you.”

Green sat still for a long moment, his heart beat slowly returning to its normal pace as his head processed the information.

Sinnoh’s champion, Cynthia, right. Not the other champion.

Wait, Cynthia?

“What’s Sinnoh’s champion doing here?” Green questioned, Pearl smiling back.

“Professor Rowan gave the champion her first Pokémon, so she’s good friends with him. She visits whenever she has free time, but from what I remember, she went to Lake Verity because she wanted to meet you.”

“Oh” was all Green managed to say, feeling embarrassed at having been seen in such a miserable state by Sinnoh’s champion.

He shook the thought off, though, not wanting to dwell on the fact, and announced he needed to see the professor immediately. Even in his weak state, he remembered the pink flash, the imagery of it still fresh in his mind, and it felt too real to be a sleep deprived hallucination. If anyone might know anything of it, it was Professor Rowan.

Pearl couldn’t stop him from getting out of the bed, grabbing his clothes that were draped over a chair while Eevee followed, but was stopped dead in his tracks at something Pearl said in his haste to calm Green down.

“Wait! The professor wanted me to tell you Professor Oak wanted you to ring him!”

The Kanto trainer stood still, Eevee looking at Pearl then up at her trainer, but he eventually turned to look at the boy to thank him, then went into the bathroom to get ready to leave.

The second he was admitted from the hospital – something he didn’t really wait for as he was out the door the moment he was deemed ‘healthy’ – he made his way to Rowan’s lab. Upon entering, however, he froze in place when seeing who the professor was with; Eevee bumping into the back of his leg from the sudden stop.

“Green?” Rowan blinked, the blonde woman next to him turning to see said Kanto trainer.

The two stared at each for a while, but the woman broke the silence as she smiled in greeting at the teen.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kanto champion.”

“I’m not-“ Green almost involuntarily rebutted, but quickly bit his tongue. “Sorry, you’re the Sinnoh champion, I presume?”

“Yes, but I prefer to go by Cynthia.”

Green wasn’t sure how to respond, feeling her powerful aura from where he stood across the room. It almost rivaled Red’s, no, it definitely rivaled Red’s. Just from looking at her, one could tell she was an incredibly powerful trainer.

A thought suddenly came to mind, however, and he quickly gave her a small bow.

“Thank you for finding me at Lake Verity, I’m sorry for that.”

Cynthia put a hand on her hip with a warm smile, “You should be apologising to your Eevee, the poor thing was running around frantically trying to find someone.”

Eevee chimed up at him, her tail wagging and face smiling as Green stared blankly at the Pokémon. Well, he already apologised at the hospital, so there was no need to do it twice.

“Why are you here, Green? Shouldn’t you be resting at home?” Professor Rowan questioned, concern evident in his tone.

“About that, Professor, something happened at Lake Verity that-“

Green was silenced by the man putting a hand up, giving Green a stern stare. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait. For now, I want you to go home.”

“But Professor-“

“This is a demand, Green, I want you home. Come back in at least two weeks’ time, then I’ll allow you to continue your research.”

There was no arguing with him, Green could see that, but he was still desperate to speak. Cynthia stopped him, however, as she spoke between the two.

“Would it be too brash of me to invite myself over? Someone needs to make sure you get home safe, after all.”

Green had a feeling the Sinnoh champion was intrigued by his words, so with a blank expression, he nodded in approval.

There weren’t too many words exchanged while they walked together, Eevee staying close to Green’s side and warily looking up at Cynthia with her big eyes the whole time. Green couldn’t blame the Pokémon, Cynthia definitely had that aura about her; an aura of raw power. The only other trainer that ever had his confidence shaken was Red, but Cynthia certainly gave him a run for his money.

“You came here with Kanto’s current champion, yes?” Cynthia suddenly asked, making Green tense up.

“Uh, yeah” he mumbled out, trying his best and failing to not look affected.

“Sorry, I guess I hit a sore spot. I can’t imagine it’d be easy to get along with such a strong rival.”

Green immediately realised how the situation looked, hurriedly turning to her and waving his hands in disagreement. “No, I don’t mean it like that! Red’s actually, uh, he’s a good guy. I haven’t thought of him as my rival in years, if I were to be honest.”

Sinnoh’s champion seemed taken aback, trying to put the pieces together in her head. Ultimately, however, she decided to drop it, and moved onto more pressing matters.

“What you were trying to explain to the professor, about Lake Verity, did you happen to see a bright pink flash?”

“Yes!” Green exclaimed, his eyes wide “Did you see it?”

Cynthia nodded “I was walking to the lake when I saw a glimpse of it, and then when I got there you were passed out on the ground. I thought a battle may have happened, but that clearly isn’t so.”

“No” Green shook his head, “I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t just a flash. There was something _in_ it, but I couldn’t see what it was. Not only that, there was a sound.”

“A sound?” Cynthia questioned, making Green purse his lips in thought.

“I don’t know how to explain it, it was like a chime, but more than that. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard.”

The Sinnoh champion stayed silent for a long moment, a hand to her chin with a thoughtful look on her face. Eventually she nodded to herself and crossed her arms, coming to a final conclusion.

“It must’ve been the legendary Pokémon of the lake, the last time a flash like that went off was from a bomb, but everything at the lake seemed normal when I arrived. I can’t imagine what else it could’ve been.”

Green came to a stop, making Cynthia stop with him and turn to look at the other with a curious expression.

“Wait” Green spoke, his hands raised, “did you say a _bomb_?”

The blonde shrugged “Long story, we kind of had our own Team Rocket here, although they went by Team Galactic. Professor Rowan’s trainers took care of them.”

“The kids?” Green almost yelled out “Those kids took care of a _bomb_?!”

Cynthia nodded, staring at him as if it were normal, and Green could feel his mental energy draining from trying to process it all. He guessed it wasn’t too absurd, since Red took out Team Rocket on his own, but blowing up a lake? That was something else entirely.

“Putting that aside” Cynthia began, letting Green catch up to her before walking again, “I think Mesprit might be intrigued by you.”

“Mesprit?” Green repeated “You mean the legendary Pokémon of Lake Verity?”

Cynthia nodded “They say one of the three lake Pokémon will appear to someone who needs them most, it’s only a folklore but I don’t see any reason to disbelieve it considering the things Pokémon will do for us.”

Green frowned “So what does that mean for me?”

“Mesprit is the being of emotion, teaching us sorrow, pain and joy. Since I don’t know what you’re feeling personally, I can’t tell you why it would’ve appeared before you.”

“Emotion…” Green furrowed his brow quizzically. He expected it might’ve been the being of knowledge, or even willpower, but emotion? “Why in the world would I need help from the being of emotion?”

“As I said,” Cynthia shrugged, then smiled softly “I can’t tell you that. It’s something you’ll have to figure out for yourself.”

The conversation between the two picked up after that, both talking about battle tactics and training regimens. Sinnoh’s champion definitely went all out, going to all different ends of the region for each individual Pokémon to train, but Green didn’t expect anything less from a champion such as her. Before he knew it, he’d made it back to his apartment, and Cynthia said one last thing that lingered on his mind.

“Green, I don’t know what the relationship is between you and Kanto’s current champion, but even I can see you’re missing the vigour a former champion should have. Try to fix what’s broken.”

Green had given her a thankful smile and a nod, but as he stepped back into his apartment, he found the warmth he’d felt with Cynthia quickly faded. It was so empty, so dark, with everything still perfectly in place and untouched. It felt nothing like home, but he didn’t know what felt like home at that moment, doubting even returning to Kanto would help the feeling.

A whole week he’d been unconscious, Pearl said, that made four whole months that Red had been gone.

Eevee peeped quietly at his feet, Green looking down at her with sad eyes but still trying to show a smile.

“Sorry, girl, you must be hungry. I guess I should call gramps too, huh?”

After heading into the kitchen and making sure Eevee was fed, Green whipped out his cell phone, leaning on the wall from across where the Pokémon was eating and scrolling through his contacts to eventually find his grandfather. With a heavy sigh, the trainer pressed on the man’s name, preemptively preparing himself for a not-so-easy conversation.

It rung once, twice, and continued to do so until coming to a stop, his grandfather not even bothering to have a voice mail set up.

Figures.

Of course the man was too busy, he always was when it came to his grandson, so Green was ready to give up on it. He found himself jumping in surprise, however, as his phone began to ring just before he could slide it back into his pocket. Looking at the screen, he raised an eyebrow, but answered the call anyway.

“Green?” the man on the other end questioned, said teen frowning slightly.

“What’s up, gramps?”

“Did you just call me? You did, right?”

Green sighed, loud enough to make sure his grandfather heard it, and let his head fall back against the wall. “I did, I was told you wanted to talk to me.”

Apart from the background noise of his grandfather’s lab, there was silence; Green refusing to lead the conversation. Eventually he started to hear shuffling on the other side of the phone, the professor now easier to hear. Green guessed he stepped outside of the lab.

This definitely wouldn’t be an easy conversation.

“Um, yes, I’d heard something happened” his grandfather spoke, a bit too carefully for Green’s liking.

Maybe his research notes weren’t good enough, or his results could be better, anything Green could think of that his grandfather would criticise him for. What he got, however, was something he never expected.

“I heard you were in the hospital for a while, is that true?”

The teen stilled, feeling caught off guard, but still managed to mumble out a response. “Uh, yeah.”

“And you’re okay now?” the professor pressed, “Is everything alright?”

Green wasn’t sure what to make of it, his eyes wide as he listened to his grandfather’s concerned voice. It was foreign, the sound of worry towards _him_ , and he found himself clenching his teeth and gripping his phone tight.

“Why do you care?”

“Green-“ his grandfather tried to speak, only to be harshly cut off.

“Why do you care about any of that? Since when did you care? Any time I was sick as a kid, you never looked twice, it was always Daisy looking after me. But you care _now_?”

“Green, listen to me-“ the man tried to speak again, but was unable to get another word in with the teen hotheaded on the other side of the phone.

“No, you listen to _me_ for once. It’s always been what’s more convenient for _you_ , what’s best for _you_. It has never _once_ been about me; you’ve never _once_ cared about my or Daisy’s wellbeing. So why now, huh? Is it because I inconvenienced Professor Rowan? Did I embarrass you in front of him?”

“Now wait a minute, it’s got nothing to do with that” the elder spoke, a hint of irritation in his voice.

“I know I’ve been nothing but an inconvenience to you, gramps. I know you want nothing to do with me, I know there’s nothing I can do that will ever be enough for you, so cut this feigning caring bullshit and get to the point where I’m a complete disappointment!”

“Green, enough!” the other snapped at him, said man clenching his teeth. “What you’re saying is completely uncalled for, you’re not being fair.”

“ _I’m_ not being fair?” Green laughed in bewilderment “Says the man who didn’t grant his own granddaughter a childhood, because she was too busy learning how to take care of her little brother; _your_ grandson!”

There was a long, heavy pause between them, Green waiting for any response to his outburst. All he got, however, was a long sigh and a tired reply.

“I’m glad to see you’re well.”

The line went dead, the elder having hung up, and Green found his hand gradually shaking more viciously the longer he listened to the monotone beep that echoed throughout the quiet apartment.

Green threw his phone with a yell loud enough to make Eevee jump, knowing the force would’ve made the device shatter against the ground, and found himself sliding down the wall while his screams turned into violent cries of frustration. He gripped his hair with tight hands, threatening to pull it out, and felt himself physically and mentally break down.

Never would he allow this to happen to himself, never would he let his frustrations out in an embarrassing display of sobs and tears, but the apartment was so empty he couldn’t hold it in anymore. There was only one person that could hold him together in this situation, but that person was halfway across the region, and had been for months on end.

He hadn’t said it, he hadn’t let himself think it, but Green missed Red so horribly it _hurt_. He didn’t care if Red had been unreasonable, he didn’t care if he was still angry at Red, he just wanted to see him again.

Green wanted to come back to the apartment with the milk carton left out on the counter, to the sound of snoring on the couch with the television still on, to the smell of burnt food stuffing up the place. He wanted to come back _home_.

“Red” he sobbed out, losing himself completely.

_Red._

…

Pikachu was clearly unhappy.

The little Pokémon stomped around grumpily, purposely lagged behind his trainer when they walked and refused to listen to a thing his trainer said. The trainer, Red, didn’t know how to deal with the situation. He’d never had the problem of his Pokémon disobeying him, let alone his Pikachu, and any training he tried to order the Pokémon to do only fell upon deaf ears. Well, blind eyes in Red’s case, being the mute that he was.

To make the situation worse, Pikachu refused to return to its poké ball, so any attempt of travelling had Red waiting for the little yellow Pokémon to keep up with him since it didn’t want to sit on his shoulder. If he tried to pick the Pokémon up, it’d give him a light zap, and every attempt ended in them only traveling a few miles before the trainer gave up.

He knew why Pikachu was angry, but no matter how many times Red tried to explain the situation, the little Pokémon didn’t listen. Red knew going back meant confrontation, something he definitely wasn’t good at, and he also knew it risked Green hating him, something he _definitely_ couldn’t take.

Red really hadn’t meant to be gone for so long, to only leave Green for a week or two, but he found the anxiety of having to face the other was so ridiculously overbearing he couldn’t muster up the courage to go back. So now here he was, sitting beside a river somewhere around Mt. Coronet and watching the waterfall in front of him glisten from the orange, setting sun.

Four months he’d been gone – he’d kept count – feeling worse with each passing day. Red knew his outburst had been uncalled for, was completely childish of him, but it was all Green’s fault. It was Green’s fault for being so oblivious, for being so stupid, for showing that dumb smug smile that was always so pretty. It was his fault his hands were so soft, his fault that his eyes shone in such a beautiful way, his fault that Red couldn’t stop himself from staring at him because everything about him was so ridiculous…was so dumb…so _perfect_.

Red felt his face heat up the way it usually did when he thought of the other, digging his head in his hands with an inward groan. It was strange to think he was glad he was mute, but if he wasn’t, the amount of times he would’ve screamed because of Green would be uncountable. The guy was so annoying, so absurdly annoying, and yet somehow Red ended up adoring him. What a weird world it was.

Even with feeling like this, though, even wanting to make up, Red doubted Green wanted to see him. All Green could talk about was Volkner, praising him as if he was some kind of almighty being. Sure, Red couldn’t invent solar panels, or robots, or moving sidewalks, but he was still the champion of Kanto. There was no way Volkner could take Green in a battle like Red could.

Oh, how romantic that sounded.

Pikachu stared at his trainer, noting the misery he was in, but quickly turned away with a frown when Red turned to look at him. This made Red let out a loud, tired sigh, and Pikachu felt just a little guilty for it.

There was a sudden explosion atop the small waterfall, making both Red and Pikachu jump in place, then look up to see a huge Pokémon jumping from the rocks. Smoke trailed behind it as it landed with a thud, Red recognising it to be a Magmortar, and blinked in bewilderment when someone jumped off its back; also smoking.

The man let out an excited whoop, patting his red hair to put out any burning bits with a far too large grin for someone who looked like they were just set on fire.

“That was an incredible fire blast!” he cheered “Now, let’s race back to the top and- eh?”

The man stopped immediately when his Magmortar pointed towards Red, turning to see the trainer and his Pikachu both with wide, almost horrified eyes. With a hearty laugh, the man walked towards them, clapping his hands together in apology.

“Sorry for that, folks! Didn’t mean to startle ya’! Me and Magmortar here- oh, wait a second…”

The closer the man got, the quieter he got, and the narrower his eyes became. There was a long pause as he stared at Red, making said man shuffle awkwardly under his gaze, then jump in shock as the other animatedly snapped his fingers and pointed at him.

“You’re Red, yeah? Kanto Champion! Wow, a legend before my own eyes!” Red didn’t even have time to nod, the man immediately continuing without taking a breath. “I’m Flint, a member of the Elite Four here in Sinnoh!”

Red was figuratively silenced by that, blinking at the man in front of him. Now that he thought of it, the guy did look familiar, but Red didn’t really spend too long looking up the names and faces of the Sinnoh League like Green did. There’s no doubt Green would’ve recognised him, and Green would’ve known how to greet him.

Ah, Green.

Red was shaken out of his fall into depression when Flint spoke all too loudly again.

“So, Kanto champion, you up for a battle with me?”

Red smiled, standing up and ready to accept, until he looked down at his Pikachu. Usually the little Pokémon would’ve jumped forward, sparks flying out of its cheeks at the ready, but instead it stood at his feet with its arms crossed and a frown on its face. Obviously, Pikachu still wasn’t willing to cooperate with him.

With a sigh and a sad frown, Red waved apologetically to decline the offer. This had Flint raising a confused eyebrow.

“What’s up, champ? Your Pikachu feeling okay?”

Red looked down at his Pikachu again, who didn’t bother to even look at him, and rubbed the back of his neck unsurely as he didn’t know how to respond. Flint crossed his arms to hum in thought, not understanding the problem but knowing there _was_ a problem. He did notice the Kanto champion seemed spaced out, however, not completely having a _there_ feeling.

“If it’s a training problem I might be able to help, even though you are a champion. It couldn’t hurt getting some help, though, yeah?”

At this, Red let out a sigh, then felt the back of his pants to pull out a notepad and a pencil. The redhead watched curiously as the other started to scribble something down, staring as he walked closer while writing to then turn the notepad towards him.

_I’m sorry, my Pikachu is okay.  
I appreciate the help, though, so thank you._

Flint was under the impression of Kanto’s legendary champion not being able to speak being some kind of rumour, but that obviously wasn’t so.

“Hm, but there _is_ a problem, right?” Flint questioned, Red frowning almost sadly. “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to pry. This must go beyond training, huh?”

Red nodded, the sad look still on his face. Flint put on a frown himself, turning to Magmortar who looked just as sympathetic, then let out a frustrated sigh loud enough to have Red blinking at him.

“Man! I can’t stand seeing a fellow trainer down like this, it reminds me too much of how someone used to be.”

The Kanto champion raised an eyebrow, tilting his head quizzically. Flint understood what he was asking.

“Well, let’s just say I have a, uh… _good_ _friend_ that hit a wall kind of recently. He did nothing but worry about the future, so that made him miserable about the present and eventually made him feel like giving up on doing anything entirely.”

Red’s eyes widened, the situation sounding far too familiar. He scrambled to write something down on his notepad, a bit too enthusiastically shoving it in front of Flint’s face.

_That’s what my friend is like!_   
_He always looks miserable, and he overworks to stay busy._   
_I think he wants something to change, but he doesn’t know what._

The champion turned the notepad back to himself when he was sure the other finished reading, tapping on the paper for a few seconds before quickly writing something else down and turning it back.

_I’m not sure what to do, but he might not need me anymore._

Flint stared at the writing, brow furrowing in confusion “Might not need you anymore? Why in the world would you think that?”

Red lowered his notepad slowly, eyes looking far too sad for Flint’s liking. The whole situation seemed like a hot mess.

“How long have you known this friend? It seems like a long time, yeah?”

The champion nodded, making Flint cross his arms with a mildly frustrated frown planted on his face.

“Look, I don’t know anything about the guy you’re talking about, but if he’s really going through what my bud went through then I can tell you, you are completely wrong in your assumption.” Red blinked at that, and Pikachu’s ear seemed to twitch in interest at the conversation. “When it comes to guys like those, who can’t think of the here and now, they need someone nearby to keep them grounded.”

Red looked to the side unsurely, processing what Flint had said, but slowly lifted his notepad and pencil to hesitantly write something in reply.

_I think he’s found someone else to do that._

“Bullshit!” Flint yelled, making Red jump not just from the profanity but also from the sheer passion behind it. “You clearly care for this guy, yeah? Enough that whatever’s happening is affecting your relationship with your Pikachu here!”

He gestured down to said Pokémon, who nodded in agreement, Red would be lying if he said he didn’t feel just a slight bit betrayed by that. Then, suddenly, his face was being held as two burning hands slapped either cheek and scared the life out of him.

“You need to help him get himself together, man! You need to show him the _now_ is important, that what’s in front of him at the current moment is what he should be thinking about!” Flint’s eyes were burning a fiery red, the Kanto champion feeling overwhelmed by his extreme passion.

“I bet he needs you more than anything right now, even if it hurts to see him miserable day in and day out, you’ve been with him for years and you’d do anything for him! Then, when he’s really lost it, and he doesn’t know what to do, you grab him and you look him right in the eye and tell him everything you’ve been hiding! You tell him he’s everything to you, and you tell him you love-“

Flint cut himself off, blinking at himself in surprise, with Red blinking back.

Oh.

Red knew whatever the other was going on about, it clearly wasn’t about him anymore. It was made even more evident by the way Flint’s cheeks heated up as he stepped back with an awkward cough, Magmortar rolling its eyes next to him.

There was a long silence after that, Flint collecting himself as Red and Pikachu looked on in bewilderment.

“Sorry, I kind of lost myself there” he admitted, Red having to hold back an amused smile, “but you got the gist of what I was saying, yeah?”

Somehow, whatever Flint rambled on about hit far too close to home. Sure, him and Green had a major argument, and sure, Red wasn’t good with people; but he was good with Green. Red didn’t know what to say around people, didn’t know what they wanted, but he knew what Green wanted.

Even if the other didn’t want to see him, even if Red wouldn’t be able to handle the rejection, he knew Green needed him _somehow_. He’d never forget the promise they’d made at ten years old, Green’s words still fresh in his mind.

_“Hey, Red, promise me something. Whatever you plan to do, or wherever you plan on going, keep in touch with me, yeah?”_

Red was truly an idiot.

The champion wrote something in his notepad, holding it towards Flint with a grateful smile.

_Thank you, you’ve really helped._

“I have?” Flint questioned, Red nodding back. The Elite Four member grinned “I guess you’ll be heading off now, then, but don’t you forget my battle request for next time!”

Red nodded again, looking down at his Pikachu with a soft, apologetic smile. The little Pokémon smiled back, completely understanding what his trainer meant with it.

With a wave Red quickly scooped up his backpack, running into the direction of the Pokémon center nearby where he’d left his Charizard to rest. Flint shouted a goodbye, putting a hand on his hip and smiling while watching the Kanto champion disappear.

“…now I need to see Volkner” Flint mumbled, his Magmortar letting out a huff of fire before walking away, causing Flint to yell in protest.

It was almost night when Red reached the Pokémon center, quickly making his way up to the front desk in a huff, desperate to get his Charizard back.

The nurse smiled “Oh, champion Red! All Pokémon centers across Sinnoh have received the message that Professor Oak is wanting to contact you, I’ll let them know I’ve passed across the message.”

Red raised an eyebrow, suddenly dead still as he processed the words. The professor usually wasn’t so desperate to talk to Red, knowing he disappeared for training every few weeks, what could it possibly be about?

…

In the corner of the apartment sat a bowl filled to the brim with Pokémon food, the bag fallen on its side. In the kitchen were piles of unclean bowls and plates cluttering the sink, untouched and reeking a sour smell. On the couch, lit by only the television screen in front of him, sat a dirty and disheveled Green. It’d been days since he moved, only getting up to eat, some days not even doing that. On his lap slept Eevee, the little Pokémon having given up on getting her trainer to move a few days ago.

Green could repeat every ad on the television, could recite the names of every character in the stupid soap opera that played episode after episode through the day. Now, more than ever, did it feel like his brain had turned to goop in his skull. At the same time, however, that goopy brain was telling him it didn’t want to move, didn’t want to get up, and felt void of any and all feelings.

He’d made a nest of blankets and cushions, having planted himself on the couch four, maybe five days ago? Honestly, he couldn’t remember, having lost track of time the second he sat down; only loosely aware of it by looking out the window next to the television. Glancing to the side, Green could tell it was night, his heavy eyes lingering a bit too long on the window.

He wondered, if he looked up at the night sky now, would he be able to see any stars at all? No, he doubted it.

How pathetic.

There was a flutter of wings outside, sounding heavy and large. It was an oddly specific sound to focus on, he thought, but he knew it was his mind playing tricks on him. That sound was never what he wanted it to be; _who_ he wanted it to be.

It was followed by the sound of footsteps, Green realising he’d forgotten to lock the front door. Oh well, if it was a robbery, he’d have to let it happen. There wasn’t anything particularly great in the apartment anyway, apart from the television he was currently staring at, he supposed.

The footsteps got louder, which Green paid no mind to until the door of his apartment was practically kicked open with a sweating, heaving man now standing in his doorway. It scared the life out of both Green and Eevee, the small Pokémon tumbling off his lap and onto the ground from how high her trainer jumped. He looked towards the door with a furrowed brow, ready to complain that if this _was_ a robbery, to rob him quietly. He found himself mute, though, upon seeing two familiar eyes staring right at him.

Red wasn’t sure what he’d do when seeing Green again – half expecting to be yelled at or sent back out by the other – but upon seeing the man sitting there, looking at him with bewildered eyes, his body moved on its own.

The Kanto champion took his cap off the throw it across the room before leaping forward, not letting Green comprehend the situation as he wrapped two large arms around him in a constricting hug, burying his face in the other’s shoulder.

Green was paralyzed, unable to even blink; was he hallucinating? The arms around him felt real, the fingers clutching him almost painfully felt real, too. The smell of sweat mixed with dirt invaded his nostrils some time ago, an unwelcomed smell to most but a scent he recognised all too well.

Unsurely, Green slid shaking hands up the man’s back, making sure that he definitely, absolutely, was _there_. It seemed real, but it couldn’t be…was it?

“Red?” he questioned, the arms around him tightening.

It was.

Green’s shaking got more violent as his throat went dry, eyes welling up with tears that dampened Red’s shoulder as he dug his face into it. He grabbed onto the other desperately, squeezing their bodies together as tightly as he could.

“You’re here. You’re here, right?” Green sobbed, feeling a hand run through his hair and cradle him softly.

Red had tears of his own falling down his cheeks, shuddering in silent sobs as he clung to Green for dear life. There were so many thoughts running through his head, thoughts about how stupid he was, about how much of a selfish idiot he’d been, but the most prominent thought was _Green_.

“Red” Green sobbed again “if I let you go, you won’t disappear again, right? You’ll stay?”

That just about broke Red’s heart, the man leaning back in Green’s embrace to look into his teary, red eyes. He brought his two hands up to either side of the other’s face, wiping the still dripping tears away with his thumbs. All he could do was stare at the gorgeous man in front of him, with the man staring back, and slowly, he felt himself begin to lean forward.

Green’s eyes became lidded, lost in the feeling of Red’s embrace, staring deeper into his dark orbs the closer they got to his own. He felt his lips twitch, struggling to keep his eyes open, the hands holding his face tilting his head up ever so slightly. His mind couldn’t process it, becoming mush from the slight brush of Red’s thumb along his cheek, and found himself uncaring of whatever situation the two of them were now in. He didn’t care, his head was full of Red.

Red.

_Red._

The man stopped, Green’s eyes only open just enough to see the other’s eyes shimmering in an emotion he couldn’t place. Then, Red’s hands slipped down from his face to his shoulders as he let his head fall, bumping his forehead against Green’s chest as he wrapped his arms around the other’s torso.

Green blinked down at him, but smiled fondly as he ran his fingers through Red’s hair and leaned down, placing his lips atop the champion’s head.

“Thank you for coming back” he whispered, still letting the tears fall.

Red squeezed his eyes shut, clutching Green’s shirt tight. It wasn’t the right time to do that, to _try_ that, all they needed in that moment were each other. Red so desperately wished he could speak just this one time, just so he could say the words;

_“I’m home.”_

…

When Green awoke the next morning, it was in a slight panic, the feeling quickly subsiding when seeing a familiar face sleeping next to him. Between them slept Eevee and Pikachu, Eevee cuddling up to Red while Pikachu had his face nuzzled into Green’s chest. It assured Green everything that happened the night before was real, that it truly happened and wasn’t some hopeful fever dream his brain concocted.

He remembered crying in Red’s arms when the champion burst through the door, but he remembered nothing after that. Had Red carried him to his room just for them to fall asleep together? Green should’ve been embarrassed about that, but he felt oddly giddy about it, his cheeks heating up a slight pink when thinking about it.

Well, that was new.

Next to him, the man shifted, glancing up to see the other blinking himself awake with heavy eyes. They stared at each other, Green letting the other’s brain start up post sleep before speaking.

“Good morning” he greeted, receiving a tired smile in return.

The smile didn’t last long, though, when Red’s eyes blew wide open and he shot upright to look around. Eevee made a noise of complaint beside him, having been rudely awoken by the movement. The champion looked down to the Pokémon apologetically, then back to Green who was snickering to himself and patting Pikachu softly.

“It’s not a dream, champ, you must’ve passed out next to me.”

Red’s apologetic look was now directed at Green, who sighed and stopped patting the yellow Pokémon to place a gentle hand on the man’s wrist.

“I don’t mind, Red, frankly I’m just happy you’re here. More than happy, in fact.”

Green looked up at him from the pillows, a warm smile matching his warm gaze. The morning sun shone through the blinds to leave a pattern of sunlight on the smaller, making him look more ethereal than he already was. Red couldn’t stop the flush creeping up his neck.

With a loud plop, the taller fell back on the pillows, looking up at the ceiling with determination as he willed himself to calm down. His mind was letting him down, though, the words _“Green. Bed. Together.”_ echoing in his head over and over. The fingers still on his wrist certainly didn’t help, his own twitching to intertwine with them.

“What’s up, champion? Don’t think too hard, you’ll confuse yourself” Green chuckled to himself, completely unaware of his effect on the man.

First the soft touch, then the smile, now that melodic laughter. After four months of seeing and hearing none of those things, Red truly felt like he’d died and gone to heaven.

Dammit, he was hopeless.

“Pikachu is a heavier sleeper than you” Green continued to speak, moving his hand from Red to pat the yellow Pokémon still nestled against him. Said Pokémon’s trainer knew he shouldn’t feel jealous about that, but he couldn’t help the glaring side eye he gave the electric type. “I guess it’s probably been ages since the two of you have slept in a proper bed, though, those Pokémon Center beds are nothing but springs and stiff pillows.”

Red could feel the air in the room become heavy, Green’s voice losing its bubbly tone as he kept his eyes cast downwards. He still had the smile on his lips, but it seemed sadder. They both went silent, both making no move to continue the conversation.

Letting out a deep breath while squeezing his hands into fists, Red decided they couldn’t go on like this; eventually sitting up to rummage through the draws beside Green’s bed. He could feel the other watching him curiously, resting back against the headboard when fishing out a notepad and pen, knowing Green kept writing utensils nearby for his three-am research notes.

Green watched intently as Red sat still, tip of the pen marking a blank page in the notepad but unmoving. His hand began shaking slightly, breathing becoming jagged, but he lifted his head and closed his eyes to let out a calm breath before intensely focusing on the page in front of him. Slowly, very slowly, he started to write something down, and sat still for a moment longer before hesitantly turning the notepad towards Green.

_We should talk about it._

The words were messy, almost impossible to read, but Green made sure to read over it again and again to make sure he understood. He sat up alongside Red to put a hand up and lower the notepad to the bed, the man giving him a confused look.

“I know it took a lot for you to say that, and I appreciate that more than you think” Green started carefully, his smile warm again “but I have a better idea. How about, instead of having your first day back be an awkward conversation, we go and spend some time together. We missed each other’s birthday’s, after all, with you being gone so long.”

Red’s eyes widened, the thought of missing Green’s, let alone his _own_ birthday, not even crossing his mind until then. Before he could even begin to apologise, Green was stopping him with a wave of his hand, and a small grin curled up his lips.

“Platinum has connections within the Pokémon Contest world, I’m sure we can get some last minute tickets for the contest that’s on tonight. We can spend the afternoon sightseeing around Jubilife City and have dinner before the contest; you know how desperate I’ve been to see one. That way we can make it up to each other and have a proper conversation tonight, deal?”

Red didn’t even think it over, immediately nodding his head. A thought crossed his mind, though, as he went to quickly scribble something down.

_Congratulations on turning twenty._

Green couldn’t help but giggle at what the notepad said, shaking his head at Red’s sheepish smile and sighing at him.

“Congratulations to you too, champion.”

…

Green was correct in assuming Platinum could get last minute contest tickets, the young trainer being able to get her hands on them in less than a minute. She explained with a wink that it didn’t hurt that the two wanting to see the contest were legendary champions, and Green worried they might get some unexpected paparazzi sitting at the front doors.

The two of them made the decision to book a hotel for the night, considering they planned to sight see during the day, leaving Red confused as to why Green almost had a meltdown over him wondering why jeans and a t-shirt weren’t acceptable restaurant or contest attire. Green had to hold his tongue when realising Red didn’t own even _one_ collared shirt.

Jumping in the taxi with backpacks packed, the two of them headed to Jubilife city around late morning, Green finding himself becoming just as excited as Eevee and Pikachu the closer they got.

“It gets your heart pumping, doesn’t it? Last minute plans like this?” Green beamed, bouncing in his seat like a child.

Red had to hold his laughter, Green unnoticing as he stared out the window with excitable eyes. Of course, the man who planned everything three times over would find a spontaneous trip the most thrilling thing in the world. Red couldn’t deny it was cute, leaving his gaze on Green for longer than necessary.

They managed to arrive in Jubilife City during early afternoon, the car ride only lasting an hour. They spent no time in checking into their hotel, throwing their bags in the room and Red feeling himself being dragged out before he could even look around because _“-we are definitely buying you formal clothes”_ but he _swore_ he saw a single queen sized bed in that hotel room.

Pikachu and Eevee took off in front of them, greeting and jumping around with any other Pokémon they came across. Red, on the other hand, felt overwhelmed in the giant city; it certainly didn’t help that people were constantly staring at them. Green noticed the cold sweat dripping down his jaw, noticed the way he kept his eyes downwards and how they blinked unnaturally, and gave a small smile before grabbing his shaking hand.

Red immediately looked up with wide eyes, seeing Green’s reassuring smile but unable to linger on it as his eyes shifted around to everyone watching them.

“Calm down, champ” Green squeezed his hand, “we’re Kanto’s top trainers, they just can’t believe a legend’s right in front of them.”

Red’s shaking started to dwindle and Green’s smile widened.

“But they’re mostly staring at me, of course, since I’m better.”

That had Red’s anxiety dissolve almost completely, the taller letting out a huff of amusement as he looked up to give Green a reassuring smile of his own. Satisfied, Green let the other go and continued to walk, but found himself stopping in his tracks when Red reached out to grab his hand again.

Green looked back, seeing Red staring downwards then slowly shift his eyes up, asking a silent question. They stared at each other for a moment, but Green only blinked before turning back around, feeling Red’s fingers grip around his hand softly as they continued walking.

There was a thump in Green’s chest, one that he found hard to ignore, and kept his face turned away from the other when feeling it heat up.

The day was spent mostly shopping, Green throwing clothes upon clothes at Red, pushing him into change rooms over and over again until he found an outfit for the man that he was satisfied with. It was at the eighth clothes shop that Red pulled out his notepad and pencil.

_I’m starting to question your taste in clothes._

Green sneered “I have a better fashion taste than you, mountain man,” then yanked his cap down before shoving an outfit to his chest and pushing him into the changing room.

After finally finding at outfit Green was happy with and Red felt mildly comfortable in, the two of them spent the remainder of the day looking at what the city had to offer. Green was amazed at all the high tech devices they showed across multiple stores, while Red, Pikachu and Eevee found themselves being entertained by all the street performers – especially the clowns. Green would’ve preferred avoiding them, if he were to be honest.

When night came around, the two headed back to the hotel to change for dinner, Red flushing a bright pink upon Green fixing his collar and giving him compliments. It was a basic collared shirt and dress pants, nothing too fancy, but Green kept fussing over him to the point Red had to silently walk away and hide his now obvious blush from a slightly confused Green.

The smaller Kanto trainer wore a similar outfit, but with a light dress jacket. He looked good, _really_ good in Red’s eyes. He didn’t know how to say it, though, feeling his heart thumping dangerously if he stared for too long. He knew he was hopeless, but until they sat down for dinner together, he didn’t realise just _how_ hopeless. He couldn’t look the other in the eye, could barely raise his head and couldn’t stop fiddling with his clammy hands, but luckily Green was too invested in talking about his research to notice anything.

Next to them, Pikachu and Eevee had their own little chairs to sit with their trainers, and the little yellow Pokémon had to give his trainer a light shock from under the table to get him to jolt upright when Green couldn’t grab the man’s attention.

“You alright? You’re not feeling uncomfortable or anything?” Green asked with wide, curious eyes.

Things didn’t feel right, Red thought, but not in a bad way. The whole day he felt Green’s presence more, noticed the shine of his eyes more, the ring of his laughter more. They replayed in his head, over and over, as if trying to imprint themselves in his brain permanently. It had been four long months they were separated for, though, in that time the things Green did – the small things – had become slightly faded.

Now, everything Green did, every action, touch and sound, hit ten times harder than it ever had before. If he weren’t so flustered, Red would never want to look away from the man, having to restrain himself from simply staring at the other for hours on end.

Red thought, maybe, this was the feeling of never wanting to lose someone.

It felt dangerous.

Green blinked when Red brought up his arms from under the table and leaned forward, lightly gripping the other’s hands in his. The smaller man stared at their hands together for a while before looking back up, seeing Red staring at him with an expression he couldn’t place. For some strange reason, it made Green’s heart skip a beat.

“A-are you okay?” Green chuckled nervously, trying to force down the blush he could feel creeping up his neck. “You’re not out of it or anything?”

Red kept staring, his thumb now lightly rubbing over the back of Green’s hand. Green could feel his head turning to mush, his thoughts bouncing all over the place. The touch felt too personal, almost sensual, even though it was just a thumb.

That was weird, definitely strange, had Red always made him burn like that?

The mood was immediately ruined when a waiter cleared his throat, looking down at the two as he held their dinner in hand. They both jumped back, Green letting out an apologetic laugh while Red’s face turned a bright pink.

Green forced himself to talk while they ate, attempting to distract himself from the loud beating of his heart, from the nerves that were starting to make his voice slightly shake. He’d never felt this way around the other, around his childhood rival and friend, and he wasn’t about to start thinking too deep into it. Thankfully, Red was too distracted with picking apart his food to notice Green’s unusual demeanor.

The contest was spectacular, distracting both of them from the previous awkward air the two shared. There was a Lopunny that could create a beautiful blizzard, bouncing up high to gracefully twirl in it. There was an Ambipom that could use ice and fire punch on two separate tails, smashing them together to create a magnificent spark. Green’s favourite was a Leafeon that could sing using grass whistle, each serene note echoing throughout the stadium.

Surprisingly, Red was also invested, unsurprisingly, it was more during the battle portion of the contest. He brought his notepad out to write one or two things down during some of the more stunning moves, clearly amazed by the techniques the coordinators used to not only show off their Pokémon, but make them more powerful. Green couldn’t help but softly smile at the man, relieved Red was still acting like his battle crazy self even though his nerves seemed fried throughout the majority of the trip. One move in particular had Red almost jumping to his feet, Green having to hold onto his arm to keep him calm; a silent reminder they were in a contest setting and not a battle one.

The blush on Red’s cheeks was too amusing for Green not to chuckle at.

By the time the contest ended, Green couldn’t keep his mouth shut, rambling away about how incredible it all was with Red nodding along in agreement. Pikachu and Eevee were just as hyped up as their trainers, running around their feet and chasing each other to the point Green almost stumbled over.

Both trainers decided that, since it was only ten, they may as well go to a park, considering no one seemed to want to go back to the hotel yet. It didn’t take long before they found a wide open, spacious park with flowers scattered around, Green unable to get a word in before Eevee and Pikachu bolted off. Well, he trusted the two of them to stay safe, especially with how oddly strong Red’s Pikachu was.

The two Kanto trainers walked through the park together until Red deemed a patch of grass worthy to be sat on, Green looking down at him with a raised eyebrow and mentally noting how expensive the champion’s pants were.

“Seriously, the ground? Not a bench?”

Red smiled and pet the grassy ground next to him, Green sighing and giving in.

“Whatever, mountain man, but I’m blaming you if I get covered in dirt.”

Satisfied with Green sitting next to him, Red smiled and lied back, folding his hands under his head to comfortably look up at the night sky. Green looked up too, surprised they were able to be seen in Jubilife City. Not only that, but they seemed to be…. sparkling.

“The contest was really something, huh?” Green spoke, hearing Red shift to look at him. “I’m glad I got to see it with you, I wouldn’t have wanted to otherwise.”

Red blinked at him, surprised when seeing the sweet smile Green wore as he turned to look at him.

“Really, thank you.”

Red could feel his heart beating so hard it hurt, his head screaming that he’d do anything for Green, would always stay with Green. He felt so hopeless, so stupidly hopeless.

“Also” Green continued, turned away from Red now “thank you for…coming back.”

Red’s heart beat for a different reason then; the guilt he’d felt over the four months of running away coming back with a sting. He quickly sat up to pull his notepad out, scribbling something down and tapping Green’s shoulder for him to read it.

_I was really stupid._

It wasn’t the smartest choice of words, but it was the first that came to mind, and it was enough to make Green laugh aloud.

“Well, yeah, you think? You always were an idiot!”

Green started to laugh louder, seeming to find more amusement in the words than Red intended. The champion was torn between laughing with him and sitting in quiet embarrassment. The laughing slowly died down, however, when Green let out a deep breath and leaned back to close his eyes with a smile.

“I know you thought we should talk about it, Red, but you don’t have to tell me why you ran off. You tend to do that anyway; you didn’t even tell me why you went up Mt. Silver without saying a word, all those years ago.”

There was a hint of sadness in that last part, making the pencil in Red’s hand twitch. He wanted to tell him, all these years he wanted to tell Green why, but he couldn’t without risking their friendship. It was pathetic of him, to be a coward for so long.

“You know, those months we were apart, it made me realise something” Green continued, his voice wavering slightly as he moved to wrap his arms around his legs. “While you were gone I lost myself, like _really_ lost myself. Even I can admit that usually I’m a mess, that I think about things I shouldn’t think so hard about, but you not being there was like a barrier that had been broken. I started tipping off the edge.”

Green curled in on himself, Red watching with worried eyes as he listened intently.

“I said horrible things to gramps, Red, really horrible things. I couldn’t handle it after that, I couldn’t keep myself from the edge any longer, and it’s not fair to gramps for me to say this, it’s not fair to Daisy for me to think this-“

Green lifted his head to look at Red, his eyes wet and filled with the most conflicted mix of emotions Red had ever seen.

“I think you’re the most important person in my life right now, I think you have been for a very long time. How selfish is that?”

Green smiled a bittersweet smile as a tear dropped down his cheek, Red’s eyes wide and his head completely blank. He wasn’t sure how to handle the situation, wasn’t sure what he should feel in that moment, and he strangely felt guilty for the amount of joy that immediately sparked within him.

 _“Selfish,”_ he thought, _“selfish?”_

Red leaned forward, paying no mind to the way Green blinked in surprise when he held his face in his hand.

_“Then I’m the most selfish one here.”_

Their lips locked together, Green’s eyes shooting wide open with his brain frying out. Red held him there for a moment, a long moment, before pulling back to stare at Green with such fondness the smaller felt himself begin to melt.

“You…?” Green tried to speak, unable to with how Red’s gaze didn’t even shift.

Green couldn’t figure it out; couldn’t figure out why he panicked when Red wasn’t around, couldn’t figure out why he felt so comfortable with Red, couldn’t figure out why his whole being screamed Red was where he belonged.

He couldn’t figure it out, couldn’t understand any of it, but for the first time in his life his head and heart were in perfect unison as Green jumped forward to knock them both to the ground, pressing his mouth firmly to Red’s as he kissed him far too happily.

Green couldn’t figure out love, but maybe that was a good thing.

The reaction had Red shocked for a slight second, but almost immediately he cupped Green’s face in his hands to kiss him back, tilting their heads to make the kiss deeper, to feel each other more. It felt dreamlike, far too much like a fantasy, but the threading of fingers through his hair was certainly real; the body pressing into his confirmed it was, indeed, reality.

The two got so lost in each other, in the feeling of the other’s embrace, that they both completely forgot where they were. That is, until, the sound of an amused little yellow Pokémon had them both shooting their eyes open.

Red and Green separated, looking up to see Pikachu and Eevee sitting in front of them, staring at them with cheeky expressions.

“We- uh, right!” Green announced, very obviously embarrassed as he jumped to his feet. “It’s getting late, we should be heading back. We need to get up early for the ride back to Sandgem Town, anyway.”

Pikachu and Eevee both giggled, Red smiling sheepishly at them, the expression turning soft as Pikachu gave him a happy smile back. The champion stood up to dust off any grass that’d stuck to him, Green looking down and mumbling something as the two Pokémon took off ahead of them. He tapped the smaller man’s shoulder, Green turning around with a pink face that turned even pinker when Red leaned in to kiss him softy on the cheek.

They didn’t linger too long, Red leaning back to show a warm smile before taking Green’s hand in his own and walking back to the hotel.

Yeah, he could very quickly get used to this.

…

Back at the hotel, Green watched as Red attempted to get out of his fancy collared shirt. His mind was hazy, his lips were puffy, but he still had one question he was dying to ask.

“So, if you liked me all this time…” Green started slowly, catching the other’s attention “why _did_ you vanish up Mt. Silver without telling me? It kind of gave me the impression that you, you know, hated me.”

Red looked guilty at that, but sighed as he grabbed the notepad off the bedside table to scribble something down. He stopped midway for a short moment, his face heating up slightly, but took a deep breath before he continued and turned the notepad towards Green.

_“I liked you, I really liked you. I didn’t know what to do about it back then, I couldn’t even be around you without panicking, so I thought I’d go somewhere to cool off.”_

Green read it, then he reread it, then he opened his mouth before closing it for a moment, and then opened his mouth again.

“Hang on, to cool off, to _literally_ cool off? On a mountain with blizzards and snow?”

Red went a dark shade of pink, blinking down at Green when the man beckoned him to come closer. The champion leaned down, eyes widening in surprise when his face was grabbed and his lips were kissed.

“You” Green started when pulling back “are the _stupidest_ man I have ever met.”

Red was clearly confused, but blushed deeper at what Green said next.

“You’re lucky I like that in a man.”

Green laughed as Red fell to his knees on the floor, wrapping his arms around the smaller trainer to bury his flushed face in his chest. The laughter died down, and the two settled against each other, Green running his fingers through the champion’s hair instead.

“You know, while you were gone, I saw Mesprit; the legendary Pokémon of Lake Verity.” Red’s head shot up, giving Green wild eyes. The smaller nodded as he continued “I didn’t get a clear look, but it was definitely Mesprit. I didn’t know why it appeared before me, especially since it’s the being of emotion. I thought ‘Surely I need more help from the being of knowledge, or the being of willpower’, but I think I understand it now.”

Green smiled down at Red, cupping the man’s face in his hands softly.

“I’ve been so focused on trying to figure out what I want to do, and where I want to be, that I didn’t even realise I was happy just being with you the whole time.”

Red blinked, not prepared for what Green said next.

“I didn’t realise just how much I loved you.”

The champion was frozen, completely so, but moved again when a kiss was planted on his lips. He wrapped his fingers around the back of Green’s neck, then used his free hand to grab Green’s wrist and place the man’s splayed hand over his heart.

Green could feel how fast it was beating, how heavy it felt under his palm, and smiled into the kiss. Red certainly had a way with words.

They separated once more, Green still cupping Red’s cheeks as he looked down at him, a small smile on his face.

“A weird time to bring this up, but I should probably apologise to gramps, huh?”

Red nodded, making Green sigh again.

“I’ll do it when we get home. Now, let me help you with this shirt, you’ll probably end up tearing one of the buttons off if I don’t.”

The champion seemed far too happy to have the other’s hands on his chest, looking up at Green with an expression that made him narrow his eyes.

“Oi, it’s your own fault you’re a stupid mountain man, don’t get any ideas.”

There was a long pause.

“At least…not until we get in the shower.”

There was a loud yelp as the two fell back into bed together.

…

Getting back to Sandgem Town was a mild hassle, mostly because neither of them slept the night before and had to be nearly zapped awake by Pikachu. Even then, getting out of bed was a hassle, with Green keeping himself wrapped tight around Red in a sleepy daze.

Upon their return, however, they were only offered a moment of peace and quiet before rapid banging at the door ensued. Green opened it with a bit too strong of a scowl, quickly blinking it back when seeing who stood behind it.

“Oh, hey! Platinum said you’d be home by now! I came knocking earlier but you weren’t home yet” Pearl grinned while bouncing on the spot, his hyperactive energy leaving Green’s head spinning from so early in the morning.

“Yeah, uh, hi?” Green started, Red peeking out from behind him to see who it was. “Pearl, I love your company, really, but why are you here?”

Pearl made a face of realisation, quickly rummaging through his bag to pull out an obnoxiously decorated envelope and handing it to them.

“I meant to hand this to you both sooner, but you were always so busy in the lab I couldn’t find the right moment to do it. Then you stopped coming to the lab and professor Rowan told me not to disturb you. Then Platinum told me you rung her for contest tickets but forgot to mention the invitation. Then-“

“Woah, woah, stop for a second” Green held his hand out as a signal to quiet the younger trainer, not able to process the tangent that went a mile a minute. “An invitation to _what_? Is this a battle tournament?”

Pearl shock his head “No, no, no! This is an invitation for Sinnoh League trainers and top contest coordinators to come together! Of course, I was also invited, Dia and Platinum too.” The young blonde grinned at himself, a hand confidently on his chest. Green could feel a migraine coming.

“So they have these fancy get togethers for the best of the best in Sinnoh too, huh?” The Kanto trainer sighed, flipping the envelope front to back to inspect it halfheartedly “When’s it on?”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight?!” Green almost chocked, Red blinking behind him. “Why didn’t you just ring us? Or email us?”

Pearl looked to the ground sheepishly, clearly embarrassed. “My dad personally wanted to invite you, but since he’s busy he wanted me to do it instead. Then I couldn’t find the right time, then I ran out of time…”

Green held a hand to his forehead with a tired frown, “Look, I know this is a big event for you guys, but Red here doesn’t even like social events and-“

He stopped as he felt a tap on his shoulder, unable to turn around as Red grabbed his waist to lean over his shoulder and hold the notebook in front of him; the words written down away from Pearl’s line of sight.

_We should go, he might get in trouble if we don’t._

“But…” Green started, turning back to only be inches away from the other’s face. “This is a big event, Red, with a lot of people. Are you going to be alright with that?”

Red nodded, then squeezed Green’s waist tighter, making the smaller flush slightly.

With a moment more for thought, Green clicked his tongue as he turned back to Pearl, looking down on the younger trainer with tired eyes that quickly turned soft.

“Alright, we’ll go, I’m guessing we’ll have to leave now to make it to…wherever it’s being held.”

Pearl’s face immediately lit up with joy “Oh, that’s the good news! It’s held here! Because Cynthia- I mean, the Sinnoh Champion, got her first Pokémon from Professor Rowan, she thinks it’s more significant to hold it here.”

Well, that certainly was good news. Green nodded at the younger trainer, affirming once more they were attending, and the two watched with fond smiles as he ran off with a yell.

The door was closed, leaving them in peaceful quiet once more, and Green turned towards Red with a grin.

“You know this means you have to put the fancy shirt back on, right?”

Red’s face paled, frozen as Green pet his cheek before walking off with a snicker.

“It was your idea to go, Champion.”

…

There was media surrounding the outside of the building the event was being held in, being barred off from the door to create a sort of walk way. Green expected nothing less, finding himself relieved there was no red carpet to walk on. Although, a small part of him kind of _wished_ there might’ve been.

He held Red’s hand all the way through the doors, unfazed by the cameras flashing because of how the Kanto champion’s hand shook in his. It wasn’t exactly people Red was bad with, it was just the cameras and the microphones; the microphones especially. Not like Green could blame him.

Pikachu and Eevee stayed on their trainer’s shoulders until making it into the building, the place not being too big but looking somewhat fancy for Sandgem Town. Upon making it in, the two small Pokémon scurried off to interact and play with the other Pokémon wondering around, and Red immediately felt calmer being surrounded by trainers like himself.

Red was the only person Green knew who could feel calm in a room full of powerful trainers, not being able to help the endearing smile he gave the man.

Almost immediately, Cynthia saw them from across the room, walking over to them with a wave and a smile with her Garchomp trailing behind her.

“Welcome, Kanto Champions, thank you for coming.”

Green smiled brightly at her “Nice to be here, Sinnoh Champion. Red, this is Cynthia, someone who I think could hold a candle to you.”

Red narrowed his eyes at the Sinnoh Champion, who somewhat narrowed her own eyes back.

“May I say, it’s wonderful to meet you, Red, I’ve heard a lot about you” she continued to smile.

Red nodded and moved to shake her hand, gripping it and maybe holding it for too long, the two staring at each other as if in challenge. The aura coming from them was ridiculously intense, Green smiling nervously before interjecting.

“Red’s thrilled to meet you too” he spoke, both of them nodding at the other in recognition before Cynthia immediately went back to her soft, smiling face.

“It’s definitely good to see you again, Green. I must say, you’re looking much better since the last time I saw you.”

The Kanto trainer turned a light pink while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Red giving the man a small smile.

“Yeah, uh, things…” he looked to the man next to him, whose smile didn’t waver “things are looking much better now.”

There was a yell of Green’s name from across the room, the three looking over to see Volkner heading towards them. Cynthia took that as her cue to leave, but not before smiling sweetly and whispering to Green;

“I’m glad you understood what Mesprit was trying to tell you.”

Green didn’t get the chance to ask what her words meant, turning to see she’d already disappeared into the crowd. He quickly turned back when Volkner lightly greeted him, smiling brightly at the electric type gym leader.

“It’s great to see you, Volkner, it’s been ages! This is-“

Green gestured to Red, but quickly froze upon remembering prior events. He could feel cold sweat beginning to form at his brow when seeing Red’s slightly narrowed gaze, the sirens in his head ringing loud and going full panic mode. This felt like an incredibly dangerous situation to be in.

Suddenly, a grinning redhead jumped next to Volkner, making the man stumble as he threw a heavy arm over his shoulder and pulled him in close.

“Yo! You must be Green! Volkner’s told me loads about you, great to finally meet ‘cha!”

Green was stunned, all the tension in the air around them having immediately melted away. He couldn’t even respond before the redhead turned to Red with a surprised look, Red looking as equally baffled as Green.

“Oh! Kanto Champion! Did you figure things out?”

Green looked between Red and the redhead, then back to Red, then back to the redhead. While his brain was working overtime trying to make sense of the situation, Volkner softly spoke up.

“S-sorry this is…Flint. He’s the, uh, _good friend_ I was talking about.”

Flint was smiling brightly, a bit too brightly, while Volkner had a subtle blush on his face, but made no move to step away from the other.

One thing clicked, and that same thing seemed to click for Red, too.

“Flint?” Green managed to finally speak “Aren’t you a member of the Elite Four here?”

“Spot on!” Flint grinned as he gave a single finger gun, which was quickly and lightly slapped down by the gym leader.

There was a whisper of Volkner asking him to _‘Please stop with the stupid gestures’_ to which Flint made a very sad expression. Behind them, Red noticed Flint’s Magmortar and an Electivire – with which he assumed was Volkner’s – talking happily to one another. It was at that moment Red couldn’t hold it in anymore, vibrating with laughter next to Green as he held a hand over his face.

“What?” Green turned to the champion, blinking in confusion as he looked between the two Sinnoh trainers and Red “What’s so funny?”

Red waved him off, making sure the two in front of him were still lightly bickering before pulling out his pencil and notepad to quickly scribble something down.

_I just got a lot of things wrong._

Green had no idea what that meant.

“Well, we gotta get going” Flint announced, “the other Elites are dying to see Volkner again, but it was great meeting you! Also great to see you’re looking good, Kanto champ!”

Volkner mumbled an apology and a quick promise to talk to Green again before being dragged off, the two Kanto trainers watching them as Volkner scolded the other, but still tentatively held the hand that was hanging off his shoulder.

Red smiled softly, but blinked when noticing Green’s questioning gaze.

“Mind telling me what that was about?”

Red sheepishly smiled at the smaller man before beginning to write something down, Green curiously looking over his shoulder at the notepad.

_I met Flint when I ran off._   
_He said things that helped me._   
_Didn’t know he knew Volkner, though._

Green made a light humming sound, tilting his head slightly at the man “Since when did you get so chummy with people? Maybe running off really did do you some good.”

Red pouted lightly, to which Green snickered and playfully pinched his cheek.

“I’m kidding, big guy. Seriously though, I’m glad you managed to befriend someone on your own; even gladder Flint brought you back to me.”

Red went a light pink, but couldn’t stop the large grin making its way up his face. Green swore his eyes were sparkling, and felt his own cheeks heating up as he punched the man in the arm.

“Yeah, I like you, alright? Whatever, let’s go mingle so you can make some friends.”

Red didn’t even flinch at the punch, letting himself be pulled off far too happily by the other.

The night ended up being more enjoyable than neither Green nor Red had expected it to be. Red was happy to see the three younger trainers again, excited that they had all managed to get eight gym badges and promised to watch all their challenges against Sinnoh’s champion. Pearl even boasted that he’d finally managed to beat his dad, to which Platinum rebutted that the Tower Tycoon was nothing compared to Cynthia. Diamond only smiled alongside Red as they watched the two bicker.

Green found a few likeminded individuals, one of them being Roark, who talked of how difficult it was to raise previously fossilised Pokémon because they didn’t exactly have a natural environment to train in. Green couldn’t help asking a few evolutionary questions considering his Aerodactyl couldn’t evolve, and was surprised at seeing how affectionate Roark’s Rampardos was towards strangers. Green knew if a stranger so much as even looked at Aerodactyl it’d burn the place down.

Both Green and Red finally met Pearl’s dad, Palmer, who was just as energetic and excitable as his son. Green couldn’t help but laugh at Pearl’s embarrassment when Palmer started making a ruckus with his Rhyperior alongside Byron and his Bastiodon – Roark looking equally as embarrassed.

Overall, the night was genuinely fun, and for the first time in a long time Green could feel his cheeks hurting from smiling for too long when getting home. From the way Red was rubbing his own cheeks upon walking through their apartment door, Green could guess it was the same for him.

Red fell to the couch face first, kicking his dress shoes off before Green purposely fell on top of him, the champion letting out a surprised puff of air. Pikachu and Eevee ran off to one of their rooms, the two clearly keen to get to bed.

“It was a good night, right?” Green asked, looking down at the man.

Red nodded beneath him, clearly tired from the amount of social interaction. Green smiled at him, leaning down to run light fingers through his hair and whisper sweetly.

“Still, I’m kind of proud of you, usually you can only attend those types of things for an hour max before hightailing it out of there.”

Red smiled in content, almost purring at the fingers on his scalp. They stopped, however, as Green sighed and pressed his face to Red’s back.

“Do you think I should call gramps now? I know I said I’d call him, but…”

Red shifted beneath him, making Green sit up as Red repositioned himself to be lying face up and stare at the other. Green’s face was tenderly grabbed by the champion, guiding him to lean down so Red could place a chaste kiss against his forehead.

Green blushed furiously, the loving smile on Red’s face only making him heat up further.

“Okay, I get it, I’ll call him now. But if the call turns bad you better be prepared for me to rant.”

Red’s smile didn’t falter, and Green let out another sigh before grabbing his phone and stepping out of the apartment.

He closed the door behind him, leaning against the handrail as he swiped through his phone. He let his thumb hover over his grandpa’s name for a while before taking a long, deep breath and pressing the call button.

Green knew he’d be awake, with how late the man worked, and it was no surprise he picked up the call.

“Green?” the professor on the other end spoke, Green having to swallow away the lump in his throat.

“Hey gramps.”

There was a long pause, both of them seemingly not knowing what to say. Even over the phone, it was incredibly awkward, and Green already wanted to give up.

“Okay, good talk” he sighed, ready to hang up until a panicked voice stopped him.

“Wait! Wait, Green, I’m glad you called.”

Said man raised an eyebrow, moving to lean his back against the handrail and seeing Red in the kitchen through the window. He seemed to be sneaking himself a snack, Eevee and Pikachu running to his feet for a poffin.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you” the professor continued, sounding as if he were carefully choosing his words, “but I didn’t know if you wanted to speak to me.”

Green winced slightly, knowing that was his fault. “Yeah, uh, couldn’t guess why you’d get that idea.”

To his surprise, there was a light laugh from the phone.

“Yes, well, I can’t say I exactly wanted to immediately speak to you after that either.”

Green couldn’t help the amused huff that escaped him, tilting his head as he watched Red tease Eevee and Pikachu with two poffins.

“I am sorry about that, though” Green smiled sadly, “I was in a bad place at the time, I shouldn’t have said the things I did.”

“No, well,” the professor spoke while the sound of bunching papers together could be faintly heard, “on the contrary, you gave me a lot to think about.”

That made Green blink, not having recalled a time his grandfather actually considered a thing he said.

“Think about…what, exactly?”

“How I’ve treated both you and Daisy.”

Green blinked again, moving his phone from one hand to the other and straightening his back against the handrail, “Go on?”

“As harsh as your words were…” there was a loud sigh from the other end before continuing “I realised I didn’t want to hear them because they were true. I haven’t really given you a chance, Green, you or Daisy; but more so you.”

The conversation had become one Green wasn’t expecting, for some reason feeling that lump form in his throat again, but for a different reason. The elder continued before Green could put together his thoughts to reply.

“I know it’s been hard for you, it’s been hard for me, too, we both kind of ended up being stuck with one another without a moment’s notice. Then there was the fact that you were a brilliant kid, too, anything I tried talking to you about, you already knew. I didn’t really know how to deal with you.”

Green could hear the nervousness in his grandfather's voice, smiling lightly and letting himself relax back against the handrail.

“Well, think about it from my perspective” Green chuckled, “my gramps is the world renown Pokémon expert, what would people think if I didn’t know everything about Pokémon?”

The elder chuckled back “Yes, you’re quite right, we both ran each other into a wall, didn’t we?”

The two shared a laugh, something that felt unfamiliar but oddly comforting to the both of them. It wasn’t until the laughter died down and there was a calm silence on both ends, did Green’s grandfather say something that made his chest warm and his eyes water.

“You’ve really grown up, Green. Your parents would be proud of you, and I am too.”

Green never realised just how much he’d been longing to hear those words till they were said, and had to blink away the tears that threatened to fall. The smile on his face wouldn’t leave, though, and he couldn’t stop the waver in his voice as he spoke.

“Hey, gramps, do you know if the Viridian Gym is still leaderless?”

There was a confused pause before the elder responded “Uh, I think so? That’s probably something to ask Lance.”

“Yeah” Green looked at Red through the window, a content smile on his face as he watched the man smush Eevee’s cheeks fondly. “I think I’ll ask Lance if he’s still willing to have me as a gym leader, it’s about time for me and Red to come back to Kanto.”

“What about your research?” the professor questioned, Green automatically shrugging in response.

“Professor Rowan has taught me a lot, I’m sure I can continue my research in Kanto and send it to him digitally.”

There was another pause, but it wasn’t awkward, and the elder responded in a happy tone.

“I’d like that, and I’m sure Daisy would too.”

“Yeah.”

The sound of a door opening had Green glancing over to it, Red peeking out from behind it with an unsure expression. Green smiled and nodded at him before speaking once more.

“Anyway, I need to head off now, I’ll call Lance about that stuff tomorrow.”

“Sounds fine, I’m glad I could talk to you, Green.”

“Likewise, gramps.”

Green smiled as he hung up the phone, gesturing for Red to come over and wrapping his arms around the man’s shoulders to pull him in for a kiss. Red was surprised at the action, having expected Green to be angrier after the call, but still welcomed the kiss and held the man’s waist tenderly.

“What do you say to going back to Kanto?” Green asked when they separated, the champion giving him a surprised look “I think I’ll finally take up Lance’s offer of being a gym leader.”

Red’s eyes almost popped out of his head, asking a very clear question with a look alone. Green couldn’t help but chuckle at the stupid expression.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it, but I don’t think I’ll hate it. So long as I’m with you, anyway.”

Red’s face went a light tint of pink, the smile on his face a heartwarming one. Green smiled back before letting out a content sigh and leaning back, his eyes twinkling as they reflected the bright, night sky.

“Hey, the stars...” he spoke, Red looking up at the sky with him “they’re really shining now, aren’t they?”

There was no response as the two stared in silence, standing in each other’s embrace, feeling the most content they’d ever been. It felt safe, reassuring, and Green didn’t feel like the future needed worrying over.

The stars were shining, and they were infinite.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
